Life Lessons
by DarkerAcolyte
Summary: Pre SF-Origin Story. Spoiled and entitled his entire life, Ken Masters is sent to Japan to study under the martial arts master Gouken. Quickly forced to adapt to a hated new life of endless training and strict punishments, he slowly begins to transform from a self absorbed brat into a mighty World Warrior.
1. School's Out

**Chapter 1**

The office of Principal Derek Stevens was large and imposing, a stark contrast to the man behind the desk. Stevens was on the border of morbidly obese, and his chronic sweating added little to his near nonexistent charm. Having to deliver bad news to one of the school's most prominent donors did little to improve his mood. He cleared his throat.

"Thank you for coming in today, Mr. and Mrs. Masters."

Philip Masters, head of the multibillion dollar Masters corporation, nodded sternly, his piercing blue eyes reminding Stevens that the man was said to be a brilliant and intimidating negotiator. "Of course. Perhaps you could enlighten my wife and I as to why you wanted to see us?"

Wiping his brow, Stevens replied. "I regret to inform you that we've been having more problems with Ken. He recently set off the school's fire alarm in the middle of our pep rally, which caused pandemonium. Ms. Morris broke her hip trying to escape the nonexistent flames. There is talk of a lawsuit against the school."

Philip interjected. "And I can assure you, we will pay any and all fees. I'm sure we can arrive at an appropriate settlement."

"I'm... afraid it's not that simple. Xavier's Preparatory Academy is a very distinguished institution. And there is some worry that Kenneth is harming that reputation. Recall that he glued his old English teacher Mr. Adams to his seat, and tried to offer a bribe to his math teacher in order to pass a test."

Philip smiled, predatory. "So another donation to the school, then? Would five million take care of our little problem?"

"Again, I'm afraid not." Stevens explained, sighing as she wiped at his forehead with a handkerchief. "You see, many of the faculty simply refuse to teach Kenneth further. We've come to the conclusion that his... _unique_ temperament might be better served elsewhere."

Megumi Masters spoke for the first time. "You're kicking Ken out? Expelling him?" Her tone was sharp, or perhaps her slight accent made Stevens receive the words that way. He didn't think so, though. The woman had a stare that could shatter glass.

The principal chuckled awkwardly. "Expelling is such a _loaded_ word, Ms. Masters. We prefer to think of it as a parting of ways for the mutual benefit of both parties." He tensed, expecting more argument. Instead, the Masters looked at one another for a long moment, seemed to have a silent conversation, and then rose to their feet. "Thank you for your time, Principal Stevens." Philip said, offering his hand to the man. Stevens took it, shaking limply.

"Of course, of course. So sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Also, if you could perhaps find it in your hearts to make a small donation before you go..."

"Goodbye Principal Stevens." Philip replied, heading out the door with his wife.

Stevens sank back into his chair. The loss of the Masters annual donations (which some of the facility referred to only half jokingly as bribes) would hurt the school, and he did not relish having to explain its absence to the board. Yet, he knew that the faculty would gladly suffer that loss in order to not have to deal with Ken any longer.

###

The Masters retreated to their limo. With a gesture, Philip ordered the driver to put up the window in the divide between them. The man did so silently, and began to drive them home.

Philip poured his wife some champagne before preparing a glass for himself. It may have only been the middle of the afternoon, but they both needed it. Megumi broke the silence first.

"I can't believe Ken. Xavier's took us almost a decade of preparation to get him into. And he's been kicked out in a little under a year!"

Philip sipped his drink, nodding agreeably. "And I had to leave work and waste an afternoon hearing about Ken's latest screw-up. And finally, it's happened. A time where my money can't get him out of a mess. I suppose we should be glad it's now and not the time when he shoplifted from that store a few months ago. A candy bar, of all things! Something he could easily have afforded even without asking us." He sighed.

"We have to do something. You can't keep bailing him out."

Philip shook his head. "Dear, it's just a phase. Ken's only just turned fourteen,..."

"So? Do you remember what you were doing at fourteen?

"Ah yes." Philip smiled. " I was on the debate team at Rowney's Prep. The key part of it, if you'll forgive the show of vanity. We made it to nationals every year."

Megumi nodded. "And I was the top student in my school back in Japan, And was already preparing to become a lawyer."

"And you became a most effective one as well," her husband teased. "One of the only lawyers who was able to stop the development of a Masters property."

"You weren't offering enough. I remember thinking you were a greedy American, out only for yourself and your company."

"And has that view changed?"

"After our forth date." Her smile was wistful, and Philip recognized the slightest hint of his wife's anguish over giving up her career. On most days she seemed to slide easily into the rule of the society wife. But every now and then a bit of the fierce lawyer who had intimidated even him reemerged, and he found himself loving her a little more every time it did.

The smile disappeared as Megumi continued. "My point is that Ken is not like either of us. He is lazy and spoiled. I fear for my son's future. I don't wish him to become like some of our friend's children."

"It's true that he's a little immature for his age. But he's a kid. I'm confident he'll grow out of it."

"He was supposed to grow out of it at Xavier's," Megumi pointed out. "We both thought the institution would finally impress upon him the importance of hard work and perseverance. Instead he made no friends he didn't bribe and insisted on becoming the 'class clown.' "

Philip shuddered. "A Masters stooping so low. Grandfather would turn over in his grave." His voice turned resolute. "I must punish him. Perhaps... I'll ground him. Or send him to his room."

Megumi arched an eyebrow. "Darling, his room is full of the latest in electronics. I don't think he'd mind all that much."

"Perhaps. Still, I'm confident the boy will shape up. He promised me as much."

"Yes, he has. Several times."

By now they had reached the front of their home. The wide gate opened, allowing them into the perfectly manicured grounds and up the marbled path towards their massive mansion. Once they arrived in front, the vehicle's doors were opened by the servants and both of the Masters were helped out of the vehicle.

"Pierce, why did you stop so far from the..." Philip's words died out as he took in the sight before him.

A delivery truck was parked in front of the house. A team of a dozen men unloaded it, taking various boxes into the mansion. The elder Masters turned to one of the servants.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Master Kenneth desired some new amusements." The servant explained. "He used his credit card and bought out one of the high end stores inventory's. I ah, tried to dissuade him but he proved most... persuasive."

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Megumi said, and started towards the house. Philip followed behind, attempting to talk her down.

"It's not ideal, but try and remember. Ken's just a kid."

She ignored him and entered into the house. Reaching the front of the gleaming white marble stairs Megumi leaned against the stairway and screamed. "KEN!" And after a moment of no response, "KEN! Get down here right now!"

"Yeah mom?" Ken appeared at the top of the stairs, making no attempt to further close the distance. The young teen was a good looking kid. His originally raven colored hair had been dyed blonde since he was ten, after he had insisted that he felt his original color was "lame" and the new one helped him to stand out more among his peers. Of average height and slender build, he was dressed in a red designer shirt and pants. Often called angelic by those who didn't know him, spending even five minutes in his company would dissuade anyone of that notion. Presently he wore a smirk that sent his mother's blood pressure through the roof. Which, knowing Ken, may have been the intended effect.

"It's bad enough you were expelled! Now you insist on spending God knows how much on toys?"

Ken shrugged. "I was bored. I'm not in school now, so I needed something to do. Better than me just lazing about, right?"

Philip came up to his wife, and gently placed a hand on her back. "Ken sport, remember that you promised us you were going to try to stick to your allowance of fifty thousand a month?" That had been his own idea, an attempt to teach the boy responsibility.

"I did try dad, really." The youth explained. coming halfway down the stairs. But it's hard. Fifty thousand can't even buy me half of the stuff I need, you know? Besides, I didn't go that much over it. This all cost like...300k or so? Which even isn't my total yearly allowance."

Philip looked at his wife and offered a forced smile. "Well, Xavier's taught him something."

Megumi let out a choked sound of rage, and her husband stepped forward to try and prevent an explosion. He adopted a stern look.

"Ahem... Kenneth, look, we've been very lenient with you. But this behavior... I cannot allow it to stand. Go to your room, immediately!"

Ken's eyes widened in what Megumi knew to be mock horror. "Please dad, anything but that!"

Philip smiled sadly, apparently buying into his son's deception. "I'm sorry Ken, but I'm afraid so. Go to your room and think about what you've done."

"Fine. Bye!" Ken rushed off, unable to hide his gleeful laughter. Philip smiled at his wife. "See? This whole discipline thing's not so hard."

"Oh yeah, mom?" Ken appeared at the top of the stairs again. "I broke one of your vases a little earlier."

"Which vase?" Megumi asked, feeling the color drain from her face.

"Um, I dunno. The Satsumi one, I think?"

"THE SATSUMI VASE!" Megumi yelled, surprising everyone, especially her son. "That one was _priceless_. It's a genuine article. It took me five years of searching to find it!"

Ken looked at her, uncomprehending. "Chill. I _said_ I was sorry." He turned around and left.

For a long moment Megumi was silent. Then she turned to address her husband, her tone eerily calm.

"I think it is time for Ken to pay a visit to an old friend of mine."

And like all good husbands, one look at her stare convinced Philip that it was best not to argue.

###

That night, a letter was sent to Japan. Megumi had not seen Gouken in decades, not since she was a young lawyer and he a man in his early thirties. But they had exchanged the occasional letter over the years, and from them she had learned that the promising pupil she had known in her youth was now the master of his former sensei's dojo. A long while ago the man had offered her a favor in gratitude for her advocacy on his behalf, and now she saw fit to call it in.

A week and a half later, she received a response. Gouken's writing was simple yet elegant, his calligraphy more beautiful than that of the Masters wedding coordinator, and they had hired the best. It impressed Megumi that someone who was such an expert in the martial arts could be so skilled at the finer ones as well.

As for the text of the letter, it was straight and to the point, a simple reply to her long appeal. But Megumi expected nothing else. The Gouken she had known never used more words than necessary.

 _I will teach him. Send him to me._

 _###_

 _ **A/N:** Hello and welcome to my first fanfic. I've been toying with this idea awhile and have posted it on another site, but thought I'd publish it here as well. Hopefully you all enjoy reading it as much as I have writing it. This first chapter was more a prologue. Next chapter is when things start heating up. Leave a review if you enjoy, it's greatly appreciated.  
_


	2. Summer Vacation

**Chapter 2**

Once again, Ken had been forced to acknowledge that he was pretty damn awesome.

The young heir to the Masters fortune had been out all day, hanging out with a few of his friends from the latest school he had been expelled from. Sure, he was technically grounded, but he had one of the servants drive him to the mall, so it wasn't like he was really unsupervised. He even let the man use one of his dad's cars, because there was no way in hell he was getting in the dude's pickup truck. He was no redneck.

The mall excursion had gone well. Ken promptly met up with a group of similar kids who had flocked to him at Xavier's. Most of them were a good deal poorer than him, not that that was a surprise given he had been kicked out of the more exclusive schools. Being only multi millionaires, it was only natural they rallied around him as their leader. Ken supposed that was the one good thing about slumming it at a cheaper school; it was easier to attract followers. He rewarded these particular ones by buying them all lunch and splurging for a mini shopping spree at a few of the high end retailers. The girls especially loved that. One of them, a shy redhead named Stacey with huge glasses and a ton of zits seemed very appreciate of his sacrifice, and quickly made it quite clear how she'd like to repay him. Heading into the dressing room they emerged some time later, her with a hickey and a very flushed face, and him with a smug sense of satisfaction. He made it very clear to his buddies just what had transpired, and reveled in their praise. Stacey herself had done nothing for him, but man he _loved_ being worshiped.

And so he returned home, with a few more bags and a new conquest to brag about. Life was good. Hell, life was great. He was absolutely certain nothing could ruin this day.

###

And then his parents decided to do just that.

Sure, he had been a little surprised to see both his folks home in the middle of the day. And when they had called him into his dad's study as soon as he came through the front door, he had figured he was due for a lecture. But he had endured dozens of them before, and had a pretty good strategy down for dealing with them. All he had to do was look vaguely chastened and promise to shape up and he was home free. But this time neither of his parents bothered with the usual boring lecture. As soon as he entered the study, his mom looked at him and spoke.

"We're sending you to Japan a week from now. Start packing."

The blonde blinked. "You're sending me where?" He had been to Japan a few times, usually to see his grandparents. And thanks to his mom's insistence he spoke the language pretty well too. Still, this trip struck him as sudden. "Are we going to see grandfather?"

"No, we're not. You're going to meet an old friend of mine. He lives in the countryside and has agreed to take you in for the summer."

"The countryside?" responded Ken, uncomprehending. "Like, rural? What the fuck would I do there?"

"Whatever he asked of you, I'd imagine."

Philip chuckled. "Nice one, dear."

"And wait, you grew up in Yokohama, right?" Ken questioned. "How'd you meet anyone out in the country?"

"I was a lawyer for many years before I met your father." Megumi explained. "I met all kinds of people. I represented Gouken and his Master during a lawsuit concerning their land. I was able to protect it for them, upon which Gouken offered me a future favor if I ever had the need. I may have even taken him up on it, but soon after I met your father and moved out of the country. Thankfully he still is willing to let me call it in."

"But the whole summer? That's like, really lame. I'd get bored of it really quick, whatever it is. So thanks, but no. I'm good."

Philip cleared his throat. "Ah, I'm sorry Ken, but we're not offering you a choice here. Your behavior recently... well it's frankly been unacceptable. We're running out of schools to enroll you in."

"What do I need school for? I'm a Masters. We own, like, half the state."

"And do you think your father and I wish to see our money wasted on your daily indulgences?" Megumi cut in sharply. "This has gone on long enough. You're going, and that's final."

"But to send me out to the middle of nowhere in rural Japan," Ken protested. "With no internet, no TV, and no stores! What am I supposed to do out there, watch grass grow? Milk a fucking cow?"

"Gouken runs a martial arts dojo. He's agreed to teach you his art and some discipline until you've learned something about humility."

"Some old martial arts geezer? That's so friggen lame!" replied Ken, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Mom, I'm sorry, or whatever. I'll take my studies more seriously."

Megumi's face softened, and she sighed sadly. "I wish I could believe you Ken. I really do. But I can't. You've done this sort of tihng so many times, and like your father says it's getting worse. You're rude, lazy, and belligerent. I'm sorry, but you need a wakeup call. Maybe a few months in Japan will make you more appreciative of the great fortune you have been given as a Masters. Perhaps you'll become more thankful for it."

Ken's eyes narrowed, and he turned towards his father, universally recognized as the softer touch. "C'mon, dad. Don't make me go. Please?" But for once Philip looked stern.

"Your mother and I discussed this, and we think it will be good for you. _I_ think it will be good for you. Something does need to change Ken, and nothing else has seemed to work. I'm sorry... but our decision is final."

"Fuck you dad." Ken snapped, all traces of remorse gone from him. "And you too, mom. Thanks a lot for ruining my summer!" He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Philip made to follow him, but Megumi held him back.

"Let him go. It's a big change for him. Give him the week to adjust to it."

"I suppose," Philip shook his head. "I hope this works, Megumi. This Gouken fellow better know what he's doing. He has to be in his 50's by now? I don't know if he can handle Ken."

Megumi placed her finely manicured hand on Philip's shoulder. "Trust me darling. your concern is unneeded. I have every confidence he can straighten out our son."

"I hope so." said Philip. "Ah, tough love. The name is fitting."

"That it is." Megumi agreed. "But sometimes, it is necessary."

###

 _One week later_

 _Rural Japan_

"This is as far as we can go, Sirs and Madame. The road's out ahead." The limo driver turned his head around to look at his employers, disappointment on his face.

Philip huffed. "Still very isolated out here, I see. Aside from that village we passed a few miles back, Gouken's the only one around. Looks like we'll have to hike it up to him. Good thing I wore business casual."

"Ugh." Next to his father, Ken rolled his eyes. He was dressed casually as well, in an X-Men shirt and blue jeans. "A hike now too? Couldn't this Gouken dude just pick us up in his car?"

The last week had been trying for the Masters. Ken alternated between screaming expletives at them and sickeningly sweet behavior designed to convince his parents that he was "fixed." His mom though held firm, which only led to more screaming. Much of the staff had snuck some spirits out of the family's wine cellar, as had Mr. Masters himself.

"I don't actually think he has one.' Megumi replied. "At least he didn't when I last saw him. Besides, as you can see, the path up to the dojo would be hard for a car to navigate."

"Well, I'm sure we can make it up from here." Philip injected some false cheer in his voice, Ken looking decidedly less thrilled.

"So there's no change I'm getting out of this, is there?'

His dad shook his head. "No, of course not! Ken, we've had this planned for a week!"

Ken shrugged "Well yeah, but I figured this was a bluff, that sort of thing. I didn't think you guys were actually going to go through with it."

"Well, you clearly don't know your old dad very well."

"...Mom insisted, didn't she?' And a look from both of the Masters men at Megumi confirmed it. Smiling, she got out of the car, leaving her husband and son to follow.

"Eh, yes," Philip admitted. "I wavered a bit, but your mother was adamant. You really shouldn't have broken that vase, Ken."

"Believe me, I'm starting to legitimately regret it."

Philip patted his son's head in an awkward display of affection. "Well, come along. " And with that, the pair left the limo and started up the steep rocky mountain path, quickly catching up with Megumi. A servant named Charles followed behind them with Ken's luggage, the bags filled to the brim with clothes and various amusements. Judging by the older man's constant efforts to steady himself, it seemed likely he was already struggling with the load.

Ken sulked. "I can't believe you only let me bring four bags. I'm gonna be, like, so bored."

"Actually Charles, that will be far enough. Ken, carry the bags."

"What?"

"You're here as punishment." Megumi reminded her son. "So start carrying them."

"But that's what _the help_ is for." The blonde billionaire's voice was filled with disdain. "And I have to carry them all the way up there? That's cruel. Like slavery or something."

"You don't have to carry them anywhere. If you like, you can leave them here."His mother offered, a sweet yet insincere smile plastered upon her face.

"Ugh, fine. Gimme the stupid bags." Ken swiped them from the old servant, who looked positively relieved to hand them over. He only took a few steps before the weight stuck him, and they each dropped to the ground. "Oh, goddamnit!"

"If you can't carry them all, you should leave some here. Unless you feel like making a return trip."

Ken looked up the long mountain path and saw the dojo nowhere in sight. He considered his options. A moment passed, the only sounds those of nature. But then he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm keeping 'em all." With a heavy heft, he lifted up all of the bags, balancing two on each arm. His parents shared a look, impressed. There were moments when their son possessed a surprising amount of willpower.

"Can we, like, get this over with now?" Ken huffed. "The sooner we get there the sooner I can put these things down."

"Sure," his mom nodded, beginning the trek up the path. "But those bags must be heavy. Let me know if you need a break."

"I won't need a break."

###

"I need a b...break." Ken insisted, his beautiful blonde hair drenched with sweat.

"Again?" Megumi scoffed. "You just had one five minutes ago."

"Eh, perhaps another break couldn't hurt." Philip offered. Megumi looked him over, finding him in as bad a shape as Ken, without the excuse of heavy luggage.

"There's no point. The dojo is just up there." she pointed. "Come now, one final push."

"Remind me to join your hiking club when I return home, dear. I've clearly been spending too much time in the office." her husband panted, before casting a look at their surroundings. "Rather isolated place, isn't it? " His eyes scanned the surrounding pristine greenery, from which birds could be seen flying to and fro and other animals could be heard from within the nearest trees. A short distance away a stream could be heard, a side path apparently leading down to it. "But that's not all bad, I suppose. It's so quiet here, and just gives one a sense of peace. None of the hustle and bustle of the city, that's for sure. Rare that one finds nature in so unspoiled a state."

"Exactly. Boring." There's not even any place nearby I can go and get drun... uh, _socialize_ in."

"The village is only a few miles down there, to the west. I'm sure you'll find something to do in it. Besides, if I know Gouken you won't have much free time to worry about." At that, the trio finally made it to the top of the path and took in the sight of the grounds.

Beginning immediately at the top of the path was a large courtyard. Its floor made of simple dirt, it scaled out in front of them, leading up to the very entrance to the dojo. A large area in the center of it seemed designed for sparring, while areas off to both sides contained what looked to be practice dummies made of straw and tied to wooden posts. Many of these dummies looked torn and pretty well beaten already, suggesting someone was using them for training.

The dojo itself was a yellow wooden structure of modest height. It was obviously an old building, (Ken guessed at least a century or more) and was showing its age. The walls suggested someone was doing lots of repairs on the place and gradually losing the battle with time over it. Still, it seemed mostly intact, a few cracks aside. Though there were several windows, all were closed, the interior concealed. A sliding door at the front seemed to be the only entrance visible from here. It was presently open, revealing a pitch black interior. Behind the dojo the path continued upwards further into the mountain, out of sight.

Ken dropped the bags where they were, reasoning he had come far enough with them. "So this is the place. I was expecting bigger, honestly." He gave the place a once over. "It seems pretty small. And old."

"It hasn't changed much since the last time I saw it," Megumi recalled, smiling slightly as though lost in a memory. "Let's go in. I don't want to keep Gouken-Sensei waiting." She moved towards the entrance, pausing only to remove her hiking boots before heading inside. A look at her husband and son told them to do the same, and Phil's loafers and Ken's sneakers soon joined their mothers just outside the dojo.

"It is a sign of respect." she offered, and went inside. The others followed, and Ken got his first glimpse at the interior of his summer home.

The floor was made of lightly colored wood. It was fading in more than a few places, indicating as well as the rest of the dojo that the place was pretty old. The walls seemed paper thin, surprising Ken slightly. If this place got hit by a huge storm he honestly doubted they could hold. So either the weather was always nice here or they were sturdier than they looked.

On the walls were several scrolls written in Kanji. Ken knew enough to make them out. They seemed like mostly nonsense, and read things like _Way of the Iron Fist_ and _Warrior's Destiny._ Maybe they were meant to be a bit esoteric, or he was reading them wrong. Ken spoke Japanese pretty well but knew his reading of the language needed work. But really, once he had learned the basics enough to mollify his mom he saw no reason to continue to study it. It wasn't something he used much in his day to day life, aside from when he wanted to impress a particular girl. They found his mastery of the language exotic. Even then though French tended to work better, so he mostly stuck to that.

As Ken pondered the scrolls, his eyes caught sight of the first inhabitant of the Dojo. A boy that looked about his age was sitting on his knees in the middle of the floor. Next to him was a bucket filled with water, and his left hand held a damp cloth. It was apparently being used to clean the floor, but the Masters arrival seemed to have disrupted this task. Currently the boy was frozen, his brown eyes looking up at the adults in surprise.

And then his eyes shifted to Ken and stayed there. His gaze was intense, seeming to go past the blonde's exterior and attempting to go further. It made him very uncomfortable, and he made a joke to cover it.

"I'm guessing this isn't that Gouken guy." Though really, aside from his age he could have been. The kid was everything Ken thought of when he pictured a martial artist. Clad in a plain and quite frankly dull white _Gi_ , the young teen clearly belonged here. Much like the rest of the dojo his _Gi_ looked a little ratty, suggesting it had seen better days. The sleeves had been ripped off, (whether for comfort or out of necessity Ken wasn't sure) and a black belt completed his uniform, suggesting he had some skill at his art. Though really, Ken didn't really think the dude looked all that impressive. He was confident he could totally take him.

"Oh!" The boy leapt to his feet and promptly bowed. " You must be the new student!" his eyes lingered on Ken, only reluctantly turning to address his parents. "Masters-Sama, welcome to our Dojo."

Ken's parents returned the bow, Philip slightly awkwardly but Megumi like a natural, which Ken supposed she sort of was. "Thank you for the welcome." Megumi said politely, awaiting the boy's own introduction.

"My name is Ryu. Please forgive my rudeness. We rarely get visitors here, especially from outside of Japan." His gaze then turned to Ken once again, and he repeated his bow. "Masters-San, it is good to meet you."

Ken gave a wave." Yo." A sharp look from his mother made him reconsider, and he gave a slight bow. "Yeah good to meet you or whatever. But hey, why am I San and they're Sama? I'm part of the family too, you know."

Ryu looked confused, but Megumi did not give him long to ponder it. "You are a student here, Ryu-San?"

"That is correct. Presently I am Master Gouken's only pupil." Again his eyes found Ken, and the blonde was growing annoyed by it.

"That's nice to hear. Is he in?"

"Oh, yes. He's in his chambers. I would take you to him but..." his expression turned uneasy. "He is in the middle of his meditation training now. With your pardons, could you wait until he is done? Master does not like training to be interrupted for any reason. He sees it as wasteful."

"This dude sounds like a whole barrel of laughs..." mumbled Ken.

"That is alright, Ryu." a deep voice came from down the hallway further within the dojo. "This once, I shall make an exception."

A door slid open, and a man stepped out. He was a towering figure, tall and looking to weigh around 200 pounds. Despite looking to be at least in his early 50's, Ken noted that the man's weight seemed to be consist entirely of muscle. His gray _Gi_ was pinned tightly against this flesh, easily hinting at the virility of the man underneath. He too was sleeveless, his bare arms as thick as tree trunks. Like Ryu, he was barefoot.

"Gouken-Sensei." Megumi approached the man and bowed, her voice filled with warmth. "It has been quite some time."

"Indeed it has, Megumi-San." The martial artist's voice was deep yet booming, but there was a warmth to it when he spoke to his former friend. "You have done well for yourself, though I never doubted otherwise."

"Thank you. For my part, I am glad you still continue to practice your art."

"It is my path in life. I owe you a debt I can never truly repay for saving the dojo so long ago. But I will do what I can." He turned to look at Philip, and seemed to be awaiting an introduction.

Philip cleared his throat, clearly feeling a bit intimidated by the hulking warrior in front of him. "Hello. P...Philip Masters. Very pleased to meet you. Megumi has spoken highly of you."

"Even isolated as I am I have heard of your family. If Megumi chose you I know you are a noble man, Mr. Masters." Gouken nodded but did not smile. The western style of address made Philip pause, but he seemed relieved the man had no apparent dislike of him.

"Thank you for the kind words, Master Gouken."

"Gouken-San is sufficient. Let us not stand entirely on ceremony. He then looked at Ken, his stare boring into him with what seemed to be a fresh intensity. "Ah, and this is your son?"

"Yes," Megumi said, "This is Ken."

Though he did not feel like bowing again, something about the old man's stare made Ken feel it was necessary. He did so. "Yeah, nice to meet you. I'm Ken Masters."

Gouken's stare remained infuriatingly enigmatic. "I see. Step forward, Ken-San." Shrugging, Ken did so.

The martial arts master proceeded to close the distance, and wordlessly he examined the young man. He circled around his new pupil. Ken turned to look at him, but Gouken shook his head.

"No, stand still." His tone was authoritative and frankly a little shitty, and Ken fought the urge to flip the guy off. If this dude thought he could just boss him around he was going to learn that that _really_ wasn't going to work. But for now he endured it, hoping to earn brownie points with both his parents and the old man.

Gouken was silent for about a minute before he returned to the front. "He is acceptable. I believe he will make a fine student."

 _What am I, a piece of meat?_

"I'm glad to hear that," Megumi said. "Thank you again for taking him on."

"It is no trouble. It will be good for Ryu to have a sparring partner to test himself against. I believe it will help to improve both him and your son."

Ken chanced a look at Ryu, and found the kid was still staring at him. He childishly stuck his tongue out at the Japanese youth, smiling with satisfaction as the other boy quickly looked away.

Gouken presently seemed preoccupied speaking with his parents, so Ken took the opportunity to head back outside and retrieve his bags. Grabbing two, he turned around and promptly dropped them both when he saw that the other boy was only a few steps behind him.

"Gah! Don't scare me like that!" He hadn't heard the kid at all. What was he, a ninja? (Actually, Ken supposed he may very well have been.)

"I am sorry for any discomfort I caused you." said the boy. "I merely wished to help you bring in your belongings." He had an antiquated way of speaking, Ken noticed. Very formal. Still, he was not one to refuse help. Really, he was glad the kid had learned his place early. If he really had to stay here for awhile, it would help to have someone waiting on him hand and foot.

"Oh, sure thing. Go ahead and take the bags inside." He sidestepped and gestured down on the ground.

"You have so many." His eyes went wide in surprise.

The blonde snorted, amused by the kid's definition of many. "Trust me, where I come from Four is light. But hopefully I packed enough. Had to positively cram everything into 'em since my folks wouldn't let me have more than that."

The Japanese youth looked doubtful. "I do not know if you'll have enough room to store them all, Ken-San."

Ken clapped him on the shoulder."You seem pretty creative dude. Figure something out."

The youth said nothing more, and grabbed the bags without complaint. Ken noticed he took on all four at once, and seemed to show little discomfort for it. A tiny part of him was impressed. If this martial arts thing didn't work out, the dude would make an excellent bellhop at one of his dad's hotels.

Megumi was the first to notice their return, and her gaze immediately narrowed at the sight. "Ken! Ryu-San is not your servant. Carry your own bags."

"Hey, he offered!"

"Put the bags down, Ryu," said Gouken, and immediately the teen did so. The old man moved towards Ken's luggage. "First, I will examine them for anything unnecessary." He proceeded to open one and quickly rife through it.

"Hey, that's my stuff!" the blonde protested. "You can't just, like, go through it or anything!"

Gouken ignored him and continued to examine the contents. "This bag will be unnecessary to your stay. There are many electronics in here. A music player, a few video games... Since we do not have electricity in the dojo such things would be wasted. And even if we did I would see fit to ban most of them. Your time could be used more productively." He set the first bag aside and reached for the second.

"That's completely unfair. Dad!" Ken looked towards Philip, who shrugged passively.

"Sorry Ken, but it's his home. Besides, he's right you can't actually use most of them."

"This bag is not acceptable either." Gouken mused, shuffling through the second one's collections of sweets and snacks. "These are unhealthy and filled with sugars and waste. They detract from your ability to train on the Warrior's Path."

The third bag soon suffered a similar fate. Sure, Ken was going to be in the countryside, but he figured he could head to the nearest city now and then, and it paid to look fashionable. He had packed like fifteen outfits, but Gouken just shook his head.

"Too many clothes. There won't be enough room to keep them all. And they will be unnecessary. Your day to day training wear shall be provided for you as it was for Ryu."

"Ken examined the Japanese teen's ratty white G _i_ once again, his lip curling upwards in disgust. "Ugh. Hopefully one in better shape. Not to mention color..."

"However, I will permit you to keep an outfit on hand should you venture outside the dojo. Pick it out and return the rest to your home." He kicked the bag over to Ken, the soft movement nonetheless sending the bag sliding across the floor. Ken agonized over his choices, but finally decided to go with a nice red shirt and black pants. Both were very expensive, which was sure to win him some admiration from the locals. (As if his looks on their own weren't enough.)

The last bag was filled with his conditioning items. It hardly surprised Ken when Gouken declared them forbidden as well, though it infuriated him all the same.

"Oh come on! You want me to look like a troll or something?"

"Preening like a peacock is unbecoming, as is vanity." Gouken explained in that infuriatingly calm tone of his. "As before however I will let you select something to keep. The rest will go." He slid the bag over to Ken, the blonde having to jump back slightly to avoid it hitting him. Shooting a dirty look at the old bastard, he lent down and examined his stuff.

Okay, so the cologne probably wasn't too necessary. He smelled pretty good without it after all. Girls were always complimenting him on his natural scent. Same with the pimple cream. He had pretty flawless skin. But when his hand touched one bottle, Ken knew what to keep.

"I'm keeping the hair dye." He held the blue bottle like it was a precious newborn. His hair was always the first thing people complimented him on. Maybe if he could at least keep it blonde this whole thing would be survivable.

Truthfully he had expected Gouken to refuse his selection, but the old man apparently had some honor because he merely nodded. "Very well. Ryu, take Ken back to the room in which he will be staying and help him to select a _Gi_."

"Yes Master." Looking at Ken expectantly, Ryu started further back into the dojo. Ken huffed and followed.

The walk wasn't long. As it turned out, there only appeared to be four rooms within the dojo proper. The first one seemed to be Gouken's, and the boys walked past the second( Ken assumed it to be the bathroom. Or maybe the kitchen) Ryu stopped at the third door, sliding it open with well practiced familiarity.

The room was small, cramped and spartan, a far cry from Ken's room back home that held every comfort imaginable. In front of the door was a Japanese futon. Ryu gestured to the empty space next to it. "Your futon shall be right next to mine, Ken-San."

"I don't even get my own room?" Ken protested, though in truth he was becoming frustratingly used to these disappointments. He put his things down while Ryu slid open a closet, the insides of which were filled with dozens of _Gi's_ of various sizes and shapes. The American moved forward to examine them.

"You should select one that speaks to your soul," Ryu urged. "Your uniform is an extension of the training you will receive. Reach inside yourself and determine which is fitting."

"Quit it with all the psuedo-deep crap. It's starting to get annoying." Then he really looked at the youth again. "Why'd you pick white, then?"

Ryu thought for a moment before speaking, as if questions were difficult for him to process. Ken knew his Japanese wasn't that bad, and was starting to wonder if the dude was slow. "The simplicity of it spoke to me. I saw no need for flash or vanity. The color itself reminds me of the pure snowfalls of the winter, and as a warrior I strive to emulate that experience within my own training. It should be pure and unfocused on distractions."

Ken rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no way I'm wearing white." He looked through most of the _Gi's_ before he found one he liked. It was bright red, the color of newly erupting flames. Despite himself, Ken was impressed. Man, he'd look badass in this thing. Put Gouken and his pupil to shame. "I guess I'll wear this one," he said, pulling it out.

Ryu nodded. "I think it fits you, Ken-San."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean, dude?" Ken asked, arching an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I meant no offense. But it is loud and vibrant. Much like you seem to be." Ryu's voice was low, thoughtful.

"Yeah well, let me try it on."

"Alright." the boy shook his head once again, but continued to stare blankly at him.

"I mean, give me some privacy dude, yeah?" Ken elaborated when it became clear he was not leaving.

"Privacy?" Ryu cocked his head, the word a foreign notion. "But we will be sharing a room together. I do not see a reason for your modesty, Ken-San."

Annoyance flared up in him. "Just get the hell out, alright?" To his credit, Ryu did so, sliding the door shut. Ken shook his head and quickly stripped down to his underwear. A moment more he was dressed in the Gi, the fabric of it feeling oddly light against his flesh, but not uncomfortable.

"Jeez. Really hope the old man has a mirror." Without being able to see himself fully he had no idea how well it fit him. He supposed he could ask Ryu.

"You can come back in, dude."

Ryu did so. Once again he stared at Ken, his gaze frustratingly blank.

"So, spill. How do I look?" Ken wished there were some girls around here. They always let you know how you looked, with their little giggles or the intensity of their stares. But guys often did too, and Ken had been on the receiving end of more than one stare of envy. But Ryu, he was an enigma.

"Like a warrior." The other youth bowed. "It will be an honor to train with you, Ken-San. I look forward to testing our strength against one another."

Ken crossed his arms and shifted his feet. "Yeah. Whatever."

###

 **A/N:** So the first real chapter done, and Ken arrives at his new home. The poor kid's in for some major culture shock.

Review Responses:

 **Vammy:** Thanks a lot for the very kind words, I really appreciate it. The fun thing about the period is that as far as I know very little has been revealed about Ken's life before he was sent to Gouken or his early training days/relationships with him and Ryu. So I'm very much putting my own spin on things and trying to trace his evolution from a selfish, whiny jerk to a well meaning (if cocky) badass who is one of the best fighters in the world. Ken's probably not a very sympathetic character so far, but hopefully by the end of the story he'll be someone you can see the growth of and root for.


	3. Go Time

**Chapter 3**

Both of Ken's parents seemed impressed when he returned to the entrance of the dojo.

"It's a nice color on you, champ." Philip said, patting his head awkwardly. Inwardly Ken groaned. His dad never had an idea how to relate to him. It kind of amazed Ken how his father was the head of a multi-billion dollar company and widely acknowledged as one of the most skilled businessmen in the States, yet relating to his son was something he had never figured out. Not that dad had never attempted to bond with him. He had, but these attempts usually ended with Philip handing Ken his credit card and telling him to go buy something. It was how his father showed love. And Ken figured that hey, who was he to refuse?

His mother seemed more measured. Megumi Masters starred at her son, her expression a mask. She had never really connected with him either, but that was just not the sort of person she was. Ken loved her and knew the feeling was mutual, but he could probably count the number of times she had smiled at him. She was reserved and serious by her very nature, which made her marriage to his dad all the more puzzling. The two were like fire and ice, and Ken never really understood how it worked, but it seemed to for them.

"Make us proud, Ken. Listen to Gouken-Sensei and learn from him."

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Megumi shook her head. "I don't expect you to understand why we decided to send you here now. I hope one day that you will. It was necessary." She looked conflicted, almost as though she wanted to hug her son. But within a split second the urge seemed gone, and she composed herself and turned to her husband. "Philip, let's go."

"Aye. It was nice to meet you ah, Master Gouken." He held out his hand for a shake and the martial artist again returned it.

"I feel the same. Safe travels to you back to America."

"And you too. Ah, Ryu, was it?" He offered his hand to the youth, who regarded him silently. A long moment seemed to pass before the student returned his grip, and even then it only lasted a second before he pulled away.

"Thank you, Masters-Sama."

"Take care of yourself, Gouken." Megumi said, and the man nodded.

"You as well, Megumi. Do not worry. I will watch over him."

"It's why I entrusted him to you." A moment passed, seeming to carry with it something unspoken. But whatever it was broke as Megumi turned and bowed to Ryu, who promptly returned it.

"I wish you well, Ryu-San. Look after my son. And your Master."

"I will do so, Masters-Sama."

"Well it looks as though we'll need to take your bags with us."Philip pointed out.

"Everything's I'm not allowed to keep is in them. I'm sure you can handle it." Ken had made sure to make the bags as heavy as possible. A smirk crossed his face as Philip staggered under the weight. "Have fun carrying them down the mountain, dad."

"Right." The older man struggled, making a poor attempt not to show it.

"Perhaps I should take one, dear." said Megumi.

"No, that's alright. I can handle it!" he insisted, making his way outside. "Bye champ. Be good, alright?" With a final look in his direction Megumi followed. Ken estimated his dad would get halfway down the mountain before he'd hand the load over to his mom.

He watched his folks go, feeling a pang of loneliness. Suddenly the reality of the situation hit him. He was going to spend his summer in the middle of nowhere, watched over by an old man who seemed to have no sense of humor. And the one guy his age around here seemed as serious as his teacher. Fucking great. This was shaping up to be real promising. The only positive was that Ken was certain he wouldn't be spending his whole summer here. He was sure that within a few weeks Gouken would crack like all his teachers had before and he'd be sent back to America. He was kinda looking forward to seeing his mom's face then.

Gouken broke the silence."Since you are our guest, I am giving you the rest of the night to acclimate to your new environment. There will be no training tonight. Ryu,the same applies to you. Be ready to assist Ken if he requires your aid in settling in."

"Yes Master."

"Thanks. I guess." At least the old man didn't seem to want to work him too hard.

"For now, you must be hungry after your travels. Dinner will be ready in five minutes. Do not dawdle." With that, Gouken moved past both boys and entered the second room down the hallway.

Ken looked at Ryu and grinned. "Well good to know your master's good for something. It's about time I got some grub."

"Usually I assist Master in preparing dinner, or make it myself. It is a great honor that he is preparing your meal himself."

"C'mon, are you really surprised, dude?" The blonde adopted a smug expression. "I'm, like, a VIP here." He frowned at Ryu's incomprehension. "Important, basically. Like, really important. Only natural he'd want to wait on me hand and foot.

"So like, what are we having? Sushi? Hey, maybe a nice steak?"

###

Ken choked down another mouthful of the dry, hard rice, feeling very ill. The stuff clung to his throat and had no taste. Mostly it was just bland. Yet Ryu and Gouken seemed to have no problem with the stuff. Both of them eagerly devoured it, while Ken moved his chopsticks around his bowl, all in a futile attempt to work up an appetite.

"You are not hungry?" the old man asked, breaking the silence. "I'd have thought you would be."

"I am, but not for this. Don't you have, like, anything else? This stuff sucks."

"It is perhaps an acquired taste. But it is all I will provide. If it is not to your liking, you may either go hungry or venture out into the wild and try to trap prey."

"Seriously?"

"Master often has me fish for our dinner," Ryu added. "If he permits it, you are welcome to come with me to try and catch a fish next time. We are fortunate to have some large ones swimming in the nearby river."

"A warrior should know how to catch their own meal." Gouken said, nodding. "Yes I believe I will send you out with Ryu. It will no doubt be a skill you wish to pick up fast, if you find rice so intolerable."

"Not all rice, just...this." Ken picked some up and let it drop back down into his bowl."Do you guys, like, have something against food that actually has a taste to it?"

"Rice is simple and nourishing, as are the fish that swim within the nearby waters. They provide for us nutritionally, and are satisfying after a long day of training. Perhaps after you begin your regiment you will find it more fulfilling. Either way, I see no need for anything else."

Ken rolled his eyes, but said nothing, and Gouken resumed eating. It was then that an urge made itself known to the blonde. A very uncomfortable one.

"Hey uh, where's the bathroom around here?"

"There are woods outside, not too far from the dojo. It is an ideal space to attend to your business."

"What." Ken looked towards Ryu, half expecting this was a joke to fool the _Gaijin_. But the other boy just continued to eat, as if he heard nothing out of the ordinary. Just in case, he had to ask.

"This, this has to be a joke, right? You don't even have indoor plumbing? How am I suppose to bathe?"

"Ryu brings up water from the nearby river to fill the basin for cleaning. Besides that, there's the river itself."

"But that would be, like, cold. And outside."

"You complain a great deal," Gouken noted, though he did not sound irritated by this fact. It seemed more along the lines of an idle comment. He consumed another bite of rice before continuing. "In my experience, men either find hidden strength when confronted with adversity, or they collapse in defeat. I expect the son of Megumi Tanako to do the former, and hope you do not disappoint either your mother or myself."

Ken considered the bowl in front of him. It was still half full, but he was already sick of rice. Hopefully Ryu was as good at catching fish as the old man said.

"Yeah. Well, I'm full. So, I'm gonna go piss. I guess. Outside. In the cold. And the dark." he gulped. Who knew what kind of animals were around here?

Gouken just nodded, continuing his meal. The blonde rose and awkwardly shuffled out of the room.

 _Am I an animal now? Eating bland food and shitting in the woods... this just gets more and more fucked up.  
_

 _###_

"C'mon, damn it! Just go!"

Though he wore no watch, Ken guessed he had to have been outside around fifteen minutes by now. The night was nearly pitch black, lit only by those few stars in the sky. Somehow, though, he had kept from tripping over a stone or pebble strewn across the rough path, and had made his way into the woods. Finding a safe spot that offered him some privacy( yet was still close enough to the dojo that he felt he could make a run for it if, like, a bear attacked him or something) He got down to business.

Only to find he could not, uh... perform.

It was especially frustrating because he knew he had to go, but his body just didn't want to cooperate. So now he stood out in the middle of the woods, shivering his ass off. He was pretty sure something had crawled over his foot once or twice as well, and he almost didn't want to know what it was. The answer _literately_ could not have pleased him. "Fuck. Work with me, please?" He pleaded.

"Ken-San?"

The sudden sound caused Ken to jump, and the boy let out a rather embarrassing squeak to go along with it. He turned around and saw Ryu observing him, the other teen's _gi's_ shuffling slightly in the breeze. Hurriedly the blonde concealed himself.

"Gah! Give me some warning, would ya? You're, like, a ninja or something."

"I am sorry to have disturbed you." Ryu said, the boy's tone as annoyingly deferential as always. "But I wondered whether you were alright. You have been out here for quite some time, and I feared you had gotten lost."

"Teh. So are you, like, the bathroom monitor or something?"

Ryu seemed confused. "I merely wished to know if you were alright."

"Of course I'm not fucking alright!" Ken snapped. "I don't know about you bumpkins, but I've always done my business inside. It's very distracting out here! It's cold as hell, it's pitch dark, and I hear all sorts of sounds in the trees. How's a guy supposed to concentrate?"

"You seemed stressed." Ryu offered, continuing quickly before Ken could offer a retort. "You should try to bring yourself to ease."

"And how the hell am I suppose to do that, dude?"

"Close your eyes." Ryu's voice took on a more instructive quality.

"What's that going to accomplish?" The blonde scoffed. "I can hardly see anything as it is."

"Please Ken-San, just trust me."

"Fine." For reasons he could not entirely explain, the American obeyed. "Happy now?"

"Now, let yourself relax. I'll help you"

"You better not try to take a peek at me or something."

"I won't look, Ken-San," came the Japanese youth's patient tone. A second passed before he continued. "I've turned around."

Though he was still reluctant, the urge to piss was really starting to grow intense. Hesitant but bowing to nature's call, Ken sighed. "What now?."

"Now focus your mind on what you see and feel around you. The smell of nature... the feeling of the ground beneath your feet...the breeze against your cheeks."

"This sounds incredibly stupid."

"Please, just give it a try."

"Okay, okay..." Ken sighed and did what the weird kid wanted, focusing on his surroundings and what he could glean from them.

Nature smelled pretty decent, honestly, and Ken felt sure that the air was the cleanest he had ever breathed. The scent vaguely reminded him of one of his mom's air fresheners with the pretentious names, "Mountain Spring" or "Hidden Garden," but here it seemed less artificial. The rich earth enveloped him, as a thousand different trees each gave off their own scents, yet somehow forming into a cohesive whole. A city boy his entire life, Ken found the myriad smells a bit overwhelming, their flavors subtle and foreign. But he had to admit that it was oddly calming.

The ground itself was soft, the dirt packed in between his toes feeling cool and sticky as he wiggled them. Ken had hated walking out here without shoes. Even the short trip on the poor excuse for a road that the dojo had to here had caked his feet in dirt. He'd have to scrub them clean soon, lest he wanted them to become hard. Even so, the feeling of his feet on the ground was comfortable once he stopped thinking about everything else.

The light night breeze blew through his hair, swaying it gently from side to side. His _gi_ ruffled in the wind, the light fabric feeling nearly bare against his skin, and doing little to prevent the chill that had already enveloped him. This was what he found himself focusing on, and as the wind softly blew he relaxed into it and _felt_.

And then he felt the wall crumple, and he began to pee. Quickly he readjusted himself, ensuring the stream did not fall on his feet or anywhere near them. It took him almost a full minute to relieve his bladder, but it felt satisfying. Unsurprising; last time he had gone to the bathroom he had been somewhere over the Pacific.

Finishing up, Ken concealed himself and pulled up his _gi_. "Huh. It actually worked." He said, somewhat amazed. Turning around, he approached the other teen. "Thanks man. I..."

He stopped abruptly upon seeing that Ryu was attending to his own business.

"Gah! The fuck, man?" he cried, turning around quickly and shielding his eyes. "Totally did not need to see that!"

"What's wrong, Ken-San?"

"Don't 'what's wrong?' me. What the fuck are you doing? You don't do that shit in front of other guys. Outside of, like, a locker room or something!"

"Locker room?"

"Not the point. The point is, ugh. Give me some warning man. Are you done?"

A short moment passed before Ryu answered. "Yes, I am now."

"Good." Ken looked at him again, glad to see he had told the truth. "Have a little modesty. These woods are huge. Maybe try pissing somewhere that's not in front of me."

"I did not expect it to offend you, Ken-San. Please forgive me." Another bow from the kid. The blonde gritted his teeth, any gratitude he held forgotten.

"Whatever. I'm going back in." He brushed past the Japanese youth, not particularly happy with him. The guy seemed pretty dense, maybe even a little slow. So many normal things seemed absolutely foreign to him. Country bumpkins were _the worst_.

Gouken greeted him as Ken walked by his room. "You have met to your bodies needs?"

"Yeah. I pissed."

"Very good. Get yourself ready for bed. Your training begins tomorrow. You will thank yourself if you are rested for it."

"Not like I have anything else to do,is there? You know, all the fun distractions around here."

The old man said nothing, his eyes instead shifting slightly behind the American. Ken did not need to guess who was back there.

"Good night, Ryu."

"Good night, Master."

Gouken slid closed the door, retiring to his own chambers. Sighing, Ken made his way into his own room, finding that a second futon had been set up for him. He plopped down in it. For all his complaints, he was very tired after the day he had, and it felt nice to lay down. Even in this crappy 'bed' in this thin room in this run down dojo, the walls of which provided little more warmth than the wilds outside had.

Ryu closed the door and sat crossed-legged upon the floor next to his futon. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"What are you doing now?"

"Meditating." The black haired teen said, not even bothering to open his eyes. "I channel my _Ki_ before bed. It prevents bad dreams and ensures my sleep will be uninterrupted.

"Your what? Eh, never mind." Curosity overpowered him, and he continued. "Look, dude. Do you ever... turn it off?"

This did cause Ryu to open his eyes, and he looked at his new training partner with evident confusion. "What do you mean? Turn what off?"

"All this. The politeness and platitudes. " Ken gestured at the dojo. "Is this really all you do with your life?" Ryu nodded without shame.

"It's the path I have been chosen to walk down. Master Gouken has honored me by teaching me his art, and I intend to honor him by becoming a student worthy of him."

"And why do you call the old man master, anyway? It gets kind of creepy."

For just a second, Ryu's eyes flashed with anger, and Ken smirked, happy to have finally cracked the state of Zen the dude always seemed to exist in. "Master Gouken has raised me from near birth. He is my family, and I show respect for him and the art he's chosen to teach me."

Ken opened his mouth to ask if he and Gouken were related, but his mouth morphed into a yawn, and a sudden pang of drowsiness hit him. Immediately, Ryu's look of annoyance shifted to one of concern.

"You should get some rest, Ken-San. Morning will come before you know it."

"Uh, whatever. I don't need your lecturing." Ken rolled over on his side, no longer caring to continue the conversation.

"Goodnight, Ken-San. Rest well."

The blonde huffed in reply. And though he wanted to reflect further on how everything utterly sucked, he found himself asleep within moments.

###

 **A/N:** More of a transition chapter, but I thought it was important to show Ryu and Ken's first real interaction with one another. As the scene hopefully demonstrated they both have a lot to learn. It's still going to take a bit before they warm up to and understand one another, but I promise it's coming.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Vammy:** Hi, thanks much for the continued reviews, it's great to hear that my first fic has held your interest! I've just checked out your Cammy stuff. It's very interesting so far and I'm going to try and catch up on it.

Yeah, filling in canon has proven a fun challenge. For some reason this idea hit me a few months back and I've been toying with it ever since. So far Ken definitely thinks Gouken's just some dumb old guy and Ryu a naive bumpkin. I don't think I need to tell you that he's going to have to reevaluate those views really soon. :P Starting in the next chapter, in fact.

Heads up to all readers: Next chapter I'm moving the story back to an M rating. Without giving too much away, Ken's behavior finally catches up with him and he discovers Gouken's definition of discipline is a bit more severe than what he's used to. Also, next update will be two chapters long and will finally get us into Ken's training. (I know you guys are eager for it, but wanted to set the stage before throwing Ken right into it.) Hopefully it will prove worth the wait. I can promise that it will prove an _interesting_ experience...


	4. Smack Down

_Heads up guys, this chapter contains pretty severe corporal punishment. I feel it's important for the story and Ken's progression, but if that makes you uncomfortable feel free to skip this chapter and proceed to the next one._

###

Ken woke the next morning to an urgent shaking.

"Ow. What the fuck?" The blonde cracked one eye opened and saw the other kid( what was his name again? Rye?) standing over him, his hand on his shoulder. "What time is it?"

""It's just after five. Ken-San, It's time for our morning training."

"What?" Ken rose from his futon, his limbs achy from the unusual sleeping arrangement, and looked out the small window that offered the only source of light into their cramped bedroom. "It's not even, like, light out yet."

The other youth seemed confused. "Master Gouken begins the day's training before dawn. A warrior must devote the whole day to their art if they wish to even begin to understand it." By the tone of his words, it seemed clear to Ken that he was just parroting what the old fart had told him. He looked over at the other teen with a patronizing stare.

"Yeah, well, I'm not a warrior. I'm a billionaire. But hey, if I need protection, I'll be sure to hire you and the old man."

The other teen frowned, clearly expressing his disapproval. "Ken-San..."

"Ken's fine. Or you know, Mr. Masters. I am pretty important." He grinned, but the boy continued unimpeded.

"I do not know how your life was in America, but you must understand that things are different here. Master Gouken is very strict. If you do not follow the rules, you will be punished."

"Pfttt." Ken waved his hand dismissively. "The old geezer won't lay a finger on me. This is some, like, 'scared straight' bullshit or whatever. Listen uh... kid."

"Ryu." The Japanese youth's tone was still unerringly polite, but there was a firmness behind it.

"Okay, sure, Ryu. I'm only here because my mom's a total bitch. I broke one of her prized vases and she wore my dad down until they reached out to this guy she used to know. Your 'master.' He's supposed to watch me for three months, but I bet I'm out of here in a week. You know I was expelled from four schools already? One old guy doesn't scare me."

Ryu's frown only deepened. "This isn't one of those schools, _Ken_. You should get washed and dressed. Already Master will punish you, but since it is your first day here it will not be as severe. And if you apologize profusely and make amends...'

"Yeah, not doing either," Ken interrupted. "Actually, I'm gonna go ahead and go back to bed. Or try, I mean how do you sleep on these things? He plopped back down on the futon. " It's hard as fuck, and can't be, what, more than a twin size? Anyway, bye now." Considering the conversation over, Ken turned his back on the slightly older teen and ignored his pleas. Soon enough he heard the stomping of feet and the sliding opening of the door, and was left in peace.

"Ah, finally..."

He had just about drifted off when he was yanked out of bed by a powerful force.

"Gah!"

Gouken was staring down at him, holding Ken just off the ground by the upper half of his _Gi_. His expression was stern, and his narrowed eyes were cold as solid stone.

"Ryu tells me you do not wish to train today?" From the open doorway Ken could see the other boy looking at them both. His expression was stoic, but his eyes betrayed some apprehension.

"Y...Yeah," Ken started. This Gouken was pretty intimidating, and he actually felt a little afraid. But he quickly steeled himself. He was _Ken-Fucking-Masters_. He could handle some old guy who should be in a nursing home, not teaching martial arts. "That's right."

Gouken released him, and Ken clumsily staggered back (not too far though, he didn't want the man to think he was scared or something. Because he wasn't.) "I see. Are you ill, from your long trip?"

For a brief second Ken considered lying, but upon glancing at Ryu ultimately decided against it. The kid struck him as a goodie two shoes, exactly the type to rat on him. So instead, he shrugged. "Nah. Just don't feel like it. Especially so early in the day. I mean I've not even had breakfast. Speaking of, I'm kinda hungry. Could you like, take care of that?"

"You don't 'feel like it.'" Gouken repeated. Somehow he managed to make the words menacing even without changing his tone from the bland neutrality he had spoken in so far.

"Not really, no." Ken crossed his arms. "Look, are we done here?"

"Your parents told me when they brought you here that you were entitled. I see now that they did not dissuade you of the illusion that you have a choice as to your daily activity." He looked down at Ken as though he were nothing. It was not a look the teen could ever recall having been on the receiving end of before, and it sent a chill through him that he did his best to ignore. "Go get washed up, and I will go easy on your punishment."

"Punishment, heh!" Ken snorted. "What are you gonna do, make me write 'I won't talk back to the old man' 300 times? Cause my old school tried something similar. Got out of it though. Once I told the 'teach how rich my dad was and how much money my family donated to them, he knew better than to press it." Ken looked around in mock wonderment. "Come to think of it, this dojo could use some repairs. It looks run down and feels drafty. You drop all this, I'll tell my dad to cut you a check. Maybe then you can afford electricity and wi-fi. There's like, no signal up here."

For a long moment the older man was silent. When he finally spoke, his voice had lost its edge and gone surprisingly soft.

"Ryu, go practice your meditation training. I have business I must attend to and will join you once it is completed." Though he spoke to his pupil, his eyes never left Ken.

Reflexively the other kid bowed. Boy, was he whipped. "At once, Master," He said, hurrying off and leaving the two of them alone.

"It would seem that we will have to begin your training differently than I expected. Very well."

Quicker than a bullet, Gouken's arm shot out. Grabbing Ken once again, he lifted the teen over his shoulder like he weighed nothing and exited the bedroom. The young teen squawked in surprise.

"Hey, dude, what the fuck? Put me down!" Ken thrashed and thrashed, hitting the older man with ineffective punches and shouting equally powerless threats, but it was useless. Even with one arm Gouken was stronger than him, and he kept a vice-like grip on the young teen . The Ansatsuken master led his captive through the dojo and back into the main training hall, stopping in the middle of it. Then he tossed the brat down onto the hard wooden floor, Ken landing ungracefully with a grunt of pain.

"Ow! What are you doing?"

"Strip off the lower half of your _gi_."

Ken's pain was forgotten as he looked up at the older martial artist. "W...wa?"

"Strip. I will not ask again. Do not make your punishment worse by continuing to test me."

Icy fear shot though Ken, and he involuntarily closed his legs. "H...hey man, c'mon. Please don't rape me."

For just a moment, Gouken's stern expression changed to one of utter befuddlement, but he quickly regained control and returned his face to a neutral state. "Do not insult me by suggesting I would ever do such a thing."

"Well I mean, you want me to strip. And you live here. Alone. With Ryu. A guy your age taking care of young teens, I just thought..."

"STRIP!" Gouken yelled, his voice causing the thin walls and floors to shake.

Ken quickly did so, removing his _gi_ so that all that remained was his briefs. Even though he knew he was really sexy, he felt incredibly self conscious. Any guy seeing him like this was weird.

Gouken sat down on the floor, crossing his imposing legs. "Get onto my lap."

"Uh..." Ken began to protest, but the strict look on the man's face made him comply, so he got on his lap. Really, the guy was not making him feel much better about his chances of avoiding rape. He felt himself begin to shake, and berated himself for it. This was clearly some sort of scare tactic. Nothing was _really_ going to happen.

"You are... 14?"

"Y...Yeah. just turned."

"Then that shall be your punishment. 14 strikes against your posterior." Gouken explained, pulling down the teen's briefs.

"Wait, you're going to spank me?"

"Why wouldn't I? When Ryu acted out as a child I did so. Now that you are in my care, I shall treat you as if you were my own son and discipline you accordingly."

Ken could hardly imagine Ryu ever acting anything less than perfect, but that was not really his main issue of concern here. "Um... I'm sorry? So can we just go ahead and forego..."

The first smack was sharp against his buttocks. Sharp was an understatement. It felt like a hammer had been dropped upon him.

"Ow! Fuck!" The boy jerked in pain. "Fuck you!"

"Do not struggle. And do not talk back. Or I will increase your punishment."

A second blow struck him. Ken twisted and jerked, trying to get up and make a break for it. But Gouken held him tight, his other arm pinning him down on his lap.

"You coming here is the beginning of a new life for you. As such, It seems only fitting I give you the same amount of strikes as you have lived so far."

A third blow. Ken expected this one, but it did not make it feel any better.

"Argh! Listen you monster. Do you have any idea who I am?"

A forth, this one aimed at his left cheek.

"Yes. A foolish youth who thinks his name will protect him. Tell me, is the Masters name making my blows feel any less harsh against your flesh?" A slight hint of amusement seemed to have slipped into Gouken's voice, though Ken couldn't really be sure.

A fifth, aimed at his right.

"I do not care about your family's name, Kenneth. Your parents entrusted you to my care, and I will mold you into a respectable young man and repair the damage done to you by your years of indulgence."

Six. Then seven.

Ken gritted his teeth, the first hints of wetness emerging from his eyes. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay?"

A pause, brief. Then,"I believe you are. But no doubt for the wrong reasons."

Eight. By now Ken's ass felt like it was on fire. And every hit was making it feel worse.

"You are over half done. It will be over soon." Gouken's tone held no more emotion than that of a man discussing the weather on a most uninteresting day for it.

A loud _smack_ signified nine, and Ken felt himself growing desperate for the pain to stop.

"Just stop, please! I'll do the stupid training!"

"Yes. You will."

Ten, this time aimed at his entire ass.

"Gah!"

Eleven, and he could take no more.

"Please! Please Stop!" Tears which had welled up in his eyes now began to fall to the ground as he began to sob. "I'm sorry, really!"

"Do not embarrass yourself further by begging for an easy end to it. Take your punishment like a warrior."

The twelfth left a mark, of that Ken was certain. He opened his mouth to beg further, but only sobs came out.

Thirteen.

He tried desperately to escape now, but his vision was clouded by the tears. And Gouken still kept a tight hold of him. No matter how much Ken kicked and screamed, no matter how much he cried, the man held him firmly upon his lap.

The last blow fell with a terrible intensity. Worse than the first thirteen combined, It exploded against his ass and made the blonde scream until his throat was dry. And he knew with a horrible certainty that Gouken had held back on the past blows, and had not afforded him that mercy on this one.

The sobbing teen felt the arm holding him down withdraw. "Stand." Gouken's voice was firm. Immediately Ken tried to, wanting to get as far away from the man as possible. But he had only staggered a few feet before his legs gave out and he crashed onto the floor.

Of course, he landed on his ass.

A thousand thousand needles felt as though they had just pierced his skin, but Ken did not scream. It was not out of some sense of nobility; rather, he had no more voice to cry out with.

He sobbed helplessly upon the floor, Gouken remaining silent over him. After a time, when his crying had become less all encompassing, the martial arts master spoke.

"I derived no pleasure from that, but it had to be done. And I suspect you will think twice before you speak back to me again. Am I correct in this assumption?"

Despite his state, Ken willed himself to nod. Then, just in case he added, "Y...yeah. Yes."

"Very good. Do not make me need to do such things again. It detracts from your training." He moved past the teen, toward the sliding door that led outside the dojo and out into the courtyard. Opening it, he turned once more to glance upon Ken's prone form. "You will be unable to train for the rest of the day, but shall still observe. It will be a good opportunity for you to learn more of what will be expected of you here. Get yourself cleaned up. I expect you outside within twenty..." Gouken paused, mentally calculating. "no, fifteen minutes. You are the sort of youth who would seem to procrastinate if given the opportunity. Let us work to discourage that habit."

Weakly Ken lifted his head, finding that the man was staring at him with no pity.

"Should you be late I will have to punish you again. And next time, I will not hold back. Do you understand?"

The words sent fear through the billionaire, and he spoke once again. "Yes."

Gouken cocked his head, as though he expected more. Ken was confused for a second before it hit him.

"Yes... Master."

For a millisecond the old man smiled, as it indulging in some private joke. Then he turned and left the dojo, the door sliding shut behind him.

Ken stayed on the floor for the next few minutes, a growing pool of tears collecting beneath him. But then he got to his feet. His limbs were still unsteady and he almost fell twice (both times having to painfully jerk to keep himself up) but slowly he began to limp out of the room.

He couldn't go through that again. And he knew he only had a few minutes to wash up and avoid an encore.

These next few months were gonna suck.


	5. Training Day

Limping and cursing all the way, Ken soon found his way to the washroom. It was located in the last room of the dojo, one he had previously mistaken for the bathroom. A quick glance around confirmed his suspicions: the room was as barebones as anywhere else here, and dark even in the daytime. A sliding door was off at the other end of the room, and seemed to be the only other exit.

In the middle of the room were two large barrels filled to the brim with water. Other small bowls lay nearby, containing various herbs and oddly enough, mashed up rice. There were no signs of soap or towels, but the lack of the latter did not shock Ken at this point. Gouken and his student did not seem big on modesty.

The blonde quickly striped off the rest of his _Gi_ and approached one of the barrels. Hesitantly, he stuck a finger in. He found it to be as cold as he feared, only a few steps above freezing. The second barrel proved much the same, which caused him to curse in frustration. This was going to be...unpleasant.

Picking the right barrel, Ken maneuvered himself inside cautiously, but the chill still made him let out a rather unmanly yelp that he was grateful no one was around to hear. A large part of him wanted to get out immediately, but he doubted Gouken would appreciate his disobedience. He had no doubt the old man would know, and right now he wanted to stay on his good side. His ass (and pride) still ached, especially once he thought back to what had just occurred.

Lifting himself up as he cleaned in a quick but hopefully efficient manner, Ken glanced at his butt. It was ruby red, a large ugly mark contrasting with his otherwise fair skin. He winced at that. Sure, he had expected there would be marks, but this was worse than he could have imagined. Hopefully it would at least go away soon. Bad enough he had had to suffer the pain of being spanked; having a reminder tattooed to his rear that detracted from his hotness only made things even more humiliating.

Really, the _nerve_ of that guy. If he was being honest, Ken had to give Gouken some credit. The teen was used to dealing with people he could wrap around his finger. He had figured the old man would be much the same, his mom's dire warning of how strict he was aside. But no, the martial artist was definitely less willing to tolerate Ken's unique charm than his teachers had been in the past. Ken had never been spanked before, or really even ever disciplined. His folks were generally so busy that they had left his care to the staff, and none of them had dared to lay a finger on him. It was kind of infuriating that some old guy he had just met thought he could. But for now, Ken felt it prudent to bite his tongue. He'd do what his 'master' said without enthusiasm. If it spared him any more beatings it was worth the temporary blow to his pride. He was a Masters; he'd get through this. Then in three months he'd be back home again, living a life of comfort and luxury. And all would be right in the world.

Finishing up his wash Ken emerged from the makeshift tub, dripping water onto the hard floor. The old man would probably hate him leaving a mess, but it was unavoidable at this point. He'd have to remember to bring a towel next time. He left the room, the already drafty dojo air now feeling painfully cold against his naked body. It was still better than the makeshift tub, though.

The blonde quickly changed back into his _Gi_ , and then went outside into the courtyard where he found Ryu and Gouken. Standing side by side and facing away from him, both appeared to be training. But as the youth entered the courtyard, Gouken turned to address him.

"Fourteen minutes and thirty-six seconds." He said by way of greeting. "You are cutting it close, I see."

"I had a lot to do." Ken complained. "And I'm not used to being rushed."

"Observe silently as Ryu and I continue our morning _Kata's_." The older man continued, paying no attention to the American's latest complaint. "They are an important foundation of our Art."

"Not like I have much of a choice..." Ken mumbled under his breath, but somehow the old bastard heard it. A narrowing of his eyes was enough to bring Ken dutifully forward. "I mean, of course, ha... ha." He sprawled out on the ground, hoping to relax, but the harsh ache in his ass convinced him very quick that standing was the better option here. Crossing his arms, he watched as the two resumed their training.

In unison master and student stepped forward and threw a series of punches, roaring as they did so. Fists and feet flew high and low as they trained together, and no sooner did they perform a complex series of moves in one direction then they spun themselves around and continued in another. Several moments passed of this, and neither looked the least bit winded. Finally though they returned to their original position, twisting their bodies around and facing back towards Ken, one arm still jutted out in front before they both relaxed( as much as either of them ever seemed to.)

Despite himself Ken had to admit it was pretty impressive, especially how they kept their actions in perfect unison. Really, the old man was way more impressive than he expected someone his age to be, and apparently Ryu was a savant when it came to martial arts. Nice to know he was good at _something_. Ken was starting to think he was dim.

"Now, let us begin your training." said Gouken. "Step forward and approach Ryu."

"Wait, what?" Ken protested. "You told me I didn't have to do anything but observe!"

"I changed my mind," Gouken said simply and without apology. "You have a higher pain threshold than I was expecting, which is a positive development. I half expected you to stay on the floor until I dragged you out."

"But why..."

"More to the point, your continued whining has vanquished any doubts I held as to whether or not you possessed the energy to spar. Now step forward, unless you'd prefer to face me instead."

Ken definitely did not want to do that. So he stepped forward and faced Ryu. The other boy looked at him with a passive stare. Then, he bowed.

"Uh..." one glance at Gouken told Ken he was expected to do the same, so he copied the motion.

Then Ryu spread his legs wide and raised his fists, adopting what even Ken could tell was a fighting stance. The Japanese youth begin to rock back and forth on his feet.

"Copy him." said Gouken. Hesitantly, Ken did so.

The boys stared into each other's eyes, and Ken did everything he could to intimidate his opponent, psych him out. Sure, Ryu was good at this, had been training for years probably, but what did that mean, really? Fighting an old man(even one as admittedly skilled as Gouken) and someone like Ken were way different. He had style. And though he had never been in a fight, Ken was pretty sure he knew a thing or two about how to stare a guy down. Hell, he was pretty sure the dude would be too afraid to even hit him.

"Begin!"

Ryu's left fist jutted out, and before Ken could even blink it connected painfully with his nose.

"Fuck! Fucking fuck! Fuck!"

Ken staggered back, blood pouring freely from him. "What the hell?"

"Ken-San, forgive me," said Ryu. He looked genuinely upset. "I thought that you would know to block."

"How the fuck am I supposed to block if you're so fast, huh?" the blonde retorted. "Shit, you broke my nose!"

Gouken stepped forward and removed Ken's hands from his face before looking him over. "It's not broken."

"How the hell do you know?" Ken retorted, his fear of his master temporally outweighed by his anger. Thankfully, Gouken chose to ignore his disrespect.

"I've trained in this art for decades and have seen my share of injuries. You are fine. Though it will likely be swollen for a few days, there will be no permanent damage that will impede your training." As Ken wiped the blood off he continued. "Approach Ryu and resume your position."

"But my nose..."

"Is not broken, as I've said. What's more, a warrior needs to be able to fight through discomfort."

 _I'm not a warrior, I'm a billionaire._ Still, Ken took a breath and did so. This time he stared at his fellow student with unmitigated hatred.

"Now Ryu will focus on blocking your attack. Attempt to hit him."

Ken grinned, this test more up his alley. "With pleasure." Letting out a loud yell he sent his fist directly at Ryu's face, intent on returning the favor. It was an admirable attempt, but again Ryu proved faster. Throwing up an arm, his hand closed around Ken's fist and he pulled his opponent towards him. Taking advantage of his uncontrolled momentum, he lifted him up in the air and flipped him overhead, sending the American flying. Ken landed on the ground a few feet away with a heavy thud, a cloud of dust stirred up by the action.

"Oof!"

"Rise, and go again."

Ken looked up at the both of them, defeat written all over his face. He attempted to send a silent plea to Gouken, hoping the old man had some degree of sympathy for him. To his disappointment (but not surprise) he seemed unmoved. With a groan, Ken rose unsteadily to his feet and limped over to Ryu once again.

"This time, attempt to block."

He failed, and when Ryu's elbow connected with his side and caused him to collapse to the ground, Ken knew this was going to be a _very_ long day.

###

It continued like this for hours, or at least seemed like it. Every attempt was the same; Gouken would have him try to attack, block, dodge, whatever, and he failed at all of them. Most of these failures ended with him down on the ground, but again and again Gouken hovered over him, demanding he get up. Ken's one attempt to refuse had seen him rewarded with a sharp kick that had provided him with the needed strength to continue.

So after the umpteenth time of falling and tasting dirt, he was very relieved to hear something different.

"That's enough for now. Get yourself cleaned off and prepare for breakfast. It shall be ready shortly." Without another word, Gouken returned into the dojo.

Blood splattered on him and sore all over, Ken was grateful when Ryu offered him a hand up. He took it, doing his best not to show his appreciation. After all, the kid had given him most of his injuries. At least to his credit he looked a little guilty about it.

"I am sorry, Ken-San. I did not expect you to be so..." he hesitated. "Inexperienced."

"Just say it dude. I suck." After the beat downs he had received Ken had no energy left to hide it.

"You will catch up in time." Ryu told him. Ken sensed this was supposed to be a comfort. "When I first began training I was scarcely better than you."

"Well you could have pulled your punches a little." The blonde complained. "I ache all over."

"I apologize for the discomfort. I've only ever sparred with Master Gouken and a few traveling warriors. I've never fought someone so new to our art."

"Yeah you can stop rubbing that in, thanks."

Anything more the boys may have said was drowned out by the harsh voice of Gouken as he called them to breakfast, and the teens made their way inside.

Breakfast was more rice and some type of watery soup. Neither tasted all that good, but it would have surprised Ken more if they had. The three of them ate in silence, Ken taking his time. After all, he didn't know when he'd have another break.

Eventually though curiosity got the better of him, and he addressed his master. "So um, we're not training more after breakfast, right?"

"Not right away, no." Gouken responded. He was on his forth bowl of rice, Ryu on his third. Ken exhaled in relief, grateful for the mercy. "It is customary after the morning meal to perform the chores of the day, so you shall be busy with them for some time."

"G...Great..."

###

"This is so friggen lame..."

Ken unhappily scrubbed the dojo floor, the sweat pouring off of him from the menial labor. The American almost wished he was back to sparing with Ryu. Sure, he had been getting his ass kicked, but at least he had spent half his time down on the ground.

Here there was no such rest. After breakfast the boys had been handed buckets and rags and told to clean the entirety of the main dojo floor. This was the task Ken had been put to for the last hour, and he was growing very tired of it. Not that he could stop. Whenever he so much as paused to wipe his forehead, Gouken would come by, slap him across the head, and snap at him to continue. Really, the man had an almost psychic ability to tell when he was slacking off. It was like his superpower.

The worst part was that the floor was really clean to begin with. He recalled Ryu had been cleaning it just yesterday, in fact, when he had first arrived here.

 _Great. Among everything else the old man's a neat freak._

 _"_ Ken-San?"

His attention was drawn to his sparring partner. Ryu was an efficient cleaner, and had gotten more done in ten minutes than Ken had in an hour.

"Again dude, Ken is fine." He had no idea why Ryu was still being so formal with him. The guy had pretty thoroughly humiliated him, and it's not as if he was impressed with his wealth or status. "What is it?"

"You missed a spot." Gripping his dirty rag, the Japanese youth gestured to a spot on the floor. Ken examined it briefly.

"I went over that area three times. It's fine."

"No," Ryu shook his head. "Look at the area around it, Ken."

It took him a minute, but eventually Ken figured out Ryu's issue. The area he had pointed to was still slightly dirtier than the rest of the space he had been mopping. It was nearly indecipherably so, but Ken had a feeling that it still would have earned him a punishment from his strict master. He knelt down and focused on the damn spot, satisfied when it looked as pristine as the rest. He glanced over to Ryu, who nodded.

"Yes, well done."

"Heh, thanks dude. Yeah, I cleaned a floor. Really on my way to becoming a martial artist."

"Every part of our training is important. Even something as simple as this can lead to improvement."

Ken rolled his eyes, suddenly annoyed by the kid's damn serenity with everything their Master threw at them. Yeah, training was one thing, but this was pretty much slave labor. "Again with the endless clichés. Jesus, dude. And do you have to make everything sound so damn dramatic?"

"I presume from the conversation that you have both finished the task I have laid out for you." Gouken's voice announced his presence as he emerged from his room and entered the main dojo. Both boys quickly bowed, their faces almost touching the floor.

 _At least I've learned that much from this. When in doubt;bow._

Gouken examined their handiwork, first looking at Ryu's portion before giving a nod. Then he turned to Ken's area, slowly circling it, his eagle eyes looking for any hint of dirt. Finally after what felt like an eternity he gave him a nod as well. "An acceptable effort."

Ken let out a breath he did not know he was holding. At the moment he did not even really care that Gouken couldn't have sounded less impressed. It was the closest thing the old man had given him to praise since he got here, and he eagerly took it.

"So this means we get a break now, right?"

The look on his Master's face told him everything he needed to know.

###

The rock felt wet and slimy beneath Ken's feet, not to mention slippery.

Gouken had taken his students out of the dojo and up further along the path. They walked for what seemed like miles on the rough ground, and more than once Ken had felt a sharp rock stab against his skin. His feet ached, and when they finally reached their destination, the youth took the opportunity to massage them as he looked around.

They had arrived on the edge of a riverbank. Water cascaded from the rocks above, falling into the stream underneath. Fish swam just under the surface, visible even from a distance away, and several rocks lay atop the water.

It was three of these rocks that Gouken pointed to. All were of modest size and located in the midst of the river. "Get atop one of the stones. It is time for endurance training."

Master and students stepped into the water. It was ice cold, but after the trip getting here, Ken found it more refreshing than painful. He climbed up on top of the left most rock. Ryu easily jumped onto the one to his right, and Gouken completed the set.

"Lift your leg," Ken's master explained, looking at him directly as he spoke. With ease he pulled his right leg up off the ground and close to his chest. Ryu did the same, and Ken followed. The action proved more difficult for him, however, and he nearly fell into the current. Only good fortune enabled him to keep his balance, and he quickly readjusted his position and resumed the stance.

"For today's lesson, you are required to hold this position until thirty minutes have passed. Begin."

It took less than a minute for Ken to fall in. The icy water cut into him like a knife, and he thrashed about for a few seconds before he was able to pull himself out. He spat water from his mouth, (coughing all the while) and shook his head much like a dog.

"Return to your position."

By now, Ken knew better than to argue. Silently he pulled himself back onto the rock and tried again.

This time, he managed a little longer before he fell in.

By the end of the exercise, Ken's calve was killing him, he was shivering badly, and his _Gi_ was soaked from the two dozen or so times he had fallen in. Neither Gouken or Ryu had fallen in once. It was really starting to suck how much better they were at this.

When Gouken called them back to the shore Ken did not even bother to get his hopes up. Instead he sighed and looked at his master. "What next?"

As it turned out, the answer was more sparring, and he added a few more bruises to his collection.

###

By the time they returned to the dojo it was dark, the night marking the official end of their training for the day. Dinner was a near repeat of breakfast, rice and soup. The only new added option were a few vegetables. None of it would normally have pleased Ken's refined pallet, but he had no further energy to complain.

Not that he would have anyway. For some reason, the bland meal was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.

###

 **A/N:** Poor Ken. Though after how whiny he's been these past few chapters, putting him through a bit of a humiliation conga was actually a bit cathartic to write. :P But I promise, it's for a good cause.

Without giving too much away, the next chapter is probably my favorite one that I've written so far. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

See you next time,

DA


	6. First Steps

The next few weeks continued in a similar pattern.

Ken would begin the morning by practicing his _katas_. He was nowhere near as good at them as either Ryu or Gouken, and often found that he would fall behind or perform a move out of order. (Gouken saw fit to constantly yell at him when he inevitably screwed up, and forced him to go back and perform the correct _kata_. It was frustrating. And exhausting.)Then, the boys would spend some time on the training dummies. Ken kicked and punched at his, generally only succeeding in getting a splinter. Ryu, meanwhile, could break his in half with ease.

Then it was time for sparring. If one could even call such one sided matches "spars." Ryu was too quick, too agile a fighter for Ken to have any hope of beating, and time and again he was rewarded for his efforts by being knocked or thrown down onto the ground, panting for breath.

After his master decided he had been beaten up enough, he'd be assigned chores. Some days this was working around the dojo, cleaning or repairing it. Other days the teens were sent to collect water for it, or bring back a fish for supper. Some sort of endurance training was often mixed in, such as the boys carrying sandbags above their heads on a trek, or performing 100 pull-ups using a tree branch. (Well, Ryu performed them. Ken attempted.) Most recently Gouken had taken to having them jump across the river's rocks and navigate their way back to shore without failing in. As with everything else, Ken found this nigh impossible, and the blonde made sure to complain about it(out of earshot of his master, of course.)

Then there was the meditation training. Some days they were required to stand in the stream and focus their _Ki_. Other days they sat besides the river and attempted the same. Ken had at first appreciated this opportunity for rest, but he quickly discovered Gouken knew when he was resting rather than meditating. While the blonde did not really see the difference between them, this excuse failed to impress Gouken, and he spanked the boy in front of Ryu. It was humiliating. But the worst part was the look of pity the other teen gave him afterwards.

Punishments were a common part of Ken's new life. Spankings seemed to be his master's go to for minor infractions, but one day Ken had been fed up with being worked like a slave and had exploded at Gouken. Many choice words were used, including half a dozen variations of "fuck" and accusations about his parentage. Ken had ended by calling him a "crazy old man" and had flipped him off, his anger outweighing his sense for self preservation. The older man had listened impassively until Ken had worn himself out. Then he retrieved a broken off tree branch and calmly told Ken to remove the top half of his Gi. The anger quickly left Ken,r eplaced by fear. He attempted to apologize, but these attempts were ignored.

The branch exploded against Ken's bare skin as he kneeled at the riverbank. The youth no longer cried out as much when he was being beat (the constant physical pain he was now being subjected to having all but ensured he had grown less sensitive) But this was a different sort. He had barely gotten through two blows before tears formed in his eyes and pleas for mercy fell from his lips. By four he was screaming in agony. And by six he found himself a sobbing mess.

Surprisingly Gouken stopped at seven blows instead of his usual fourteen, though he gave no reason for it. (Ken did not want to delude himself into thinking it could be mercy.) Discarding the branch, he told Ken to clean himself up in the river. Then he continued the training, the exhausted teen barely able to participate but nonetheless required to.

For the billionaire, life had formed into a sort of new normalcy, albeit it a hated one.

###

Things changed a few days later.

As soon as it came time for their chores, Gouken sent his students to the nearby village for supplies. Nearby was relative of course; the place had to be miles away. With no transportation it took a few hours to get there, but Ken hardly paid attention. He was getting used to long walks and barely noticed his discomfort from it. It was a depressing thought.

The walk passed largely in silence. Ryu only seemed to ever talk about training, and Ken had grown used to tuning him out. His own few attempts to communicate with the other teen had proven frustrating. No matter what he asked Ryu would give short answers, seemingly uninterested in expanding on them. Needless to say, he quickly stopped trying to get him to talk.

Finally they arrived in town. It was a small community of around a thousand people, but for Ken it may as well have been Tokyo. There were cars and a bus terminal, and Ken had spotted one of the few people out on the street was texting on their cell phone. Finally, hints of civilization!

As they continued their walk more and more people appeared to notice them. At first Ken felt pretty sure this was due to him. A place this rural it was unlikely they saw many _gaijin_ , and he knew he looked sexy in his bright red _Gi_.(The fact that he sucked at martial arts was hardly important. It wasn't like the onlookers were asking for a demonstration.) He gave a cocky smile to anyone whose eyes he met, and was surprised when none returned it.

Indeed, the onlookers seemed less interested in his being a foreigner than they were in him being a student of Gouken. Ken quickly realized the looks he was getting were ones of caution and distrust. But it soon hit him that Ryu was getting them to. Parents gestured their kids inside, and people whispered in their general direction. It was a weird feeling, and it made Ken lean in and ask Ryu a question.

"Is Gouken, like, an outlaw or something? The people around here look...weird. Which I could understand if it was just me, I guess. But they're looking at you weird too."

"Our visits to this area are...infrequent." Ryu said, but characteristically offered no further explanation.

"C'mon dude. Give me more than that!"

"There is little more to give. We have little contact with the town, and they with us. Given the lack of communication, we've always been treated with some suspicion. They usually don't pay me this much attention however. I suspect your arrival has intrigued them."

"Oh." At that, Ken gave a wave at a nearby crowd. "Yo, dudes and dudettes! Sup?"

"Ken!" Ryu's tone was harsh, surprising the blonde. He so rarely seemed to get angry.

"What, I can't be friendly?"

"Just... do not draw attention to yourself, please. It will just cause trouble."

"Ugh, fine."

Their destination turned out to be a modern looking convenience store. It wasn't very big or impressive, but Ken still gave a whistle at the sight. Meanwhile, two hours away he was having to shit in the woods. Life was unfair.

The doors were electronic and opened for the pair, and Ryu turned to Ken. "Master wants a few herbs and necessities he cannot produce at the dojo. I will get them. Can you get him a copy of the _Asahi Shimbun_?"

Ken yawned. "Sure, I guess. What's that, some sort of ancient text?"

"No. It's a newspaper from Tokyo."

"Oh. What does the old man want with that?"

Again Ryu's eyes flashed, and Ken had known him long enough to know he was irritated. "Master Gouken is not some bumpkin or whatever it is you consider him. He does appreciate reading and finding out what is happening in the world."

"If you say so," the American shrugged. "But yeah, I'll get it."

"Thank you." Ryu fished some money from inside the small bag he had brought with him and handed it over to Ken. "It should be down that aisle. I will meet you at the front once you are done."

"Fine."

Ken's eyes scanned the shelves as he moved through the aisle, taking in the various treats and gadgets the place had for sale. (Man, he really wished he had one of his credit cards.) The few people present in the aisle hurriedly got out of his way, confirming his suspicions. Gouken and his students were not welcome here. He wanted to laugh at that. _Hey guys, I'm not a freak like them, trust me._

As he searched for the paper his eyes caught sight of an old arcade machine near the back of the store. Immediately Ken's face lit up as he recognized the game. _Turbo Racer_ was a classic! He actually had the game back at his place, though had never played the arcade version.

Examining the machine, he saw that he actually had just enough to play it. It did take him a minute to decide whether or not to do so. On the one hand, he had not played a game in weeks, and this was one of his favorites. After all he had been through, surely he deserved a break? On the other, Gouken was sure to be pissed if he didn't get his paper. Though maybe Ken could tell him it had been sold out. Nothing he could have done then, was there?

In the end, it was the pitiful high score that sealed it for him. Ken knew he could beat it with ease. So without another thought, he put the yen in and started up a game.

The game was as easy as he remembered. Really, everyone knew the A.I. was super weak and easily exploitable. Plus, Ken knew all the exploits to shave time off his score. He won every race with ease, and was halfway to winning the platinum cup when he felt a tap on his back.

"Gah!" he quickly glanced back, relaxing once he saw it was Ryu. "Oh, it's you. What did I tell you about sneaking up on me like that, dude?"

"Where is Master Gouken's newspaper?"

"Oh. Uh... they were out."

"Really?" Ryu asked skeptically.

"Yep. Sucks, but I guess we got here too late."

"I just passed by the stands and they have several copies of it remaining."

"Oh. Did you pick one up?" Ken asked, turning the controller as he made a tight curve.

"No, because I gave you the money for it. Instead you spent it on this?" Ryu sounded pissed, but at the moment Ken found it hard to care.

"Yeah. I mean dude, it's been a hard few weeks. I wanted to treat myself. Gouken can go one time without his stupid paper."

"Again and again you prove disrespectful. I do not know what Master sees in you!"

Ken paused the game and looked back, shocked by his training partner's harsh tone. "Dude, chill. It's just a stupid..."

"You whine and complain about _everything_. I know you do not wish to be here, but you should make more of an effort to learn our ways!"

The American's eyes narrowed. "Hey, fuck off man. Don't act like this is easy for me. These last few weeks I've been put through hell, okay?"

"Yes. Your endless complaints have made that clear." Ryu shook his head. "I'm going outside. Come out when you have had your fun and I will escort you home."

He stormed off. Ken shook his head."What a fucking stick in the mud." He said, resuming his game.

It took him only a few more minutes to win it. He let out a loud and triumphant whoop, but was disappointed that there was no one around to observe his victory. He had no more Yen to continue with either, much to his disappointment. There was nothing left to do but head out, so he did so. Ken expected to find Ryu right outside, but to his surprise the older teen was nowhere to be seen.

 _I probably took too long and he ditched me. He's probably telling Gouken everything. Great, now I have a long walk to look forward to as well as a beating.  
_

He started off, but he had only made it a short way before he heard sound coming from a nearby alleyway. Curiosity got the better of him and he peeked down it.

Ryu was down the far end of it, standing against the wall. Surrounding him were three older teens still wearing their school uniforms. By the messy way they were wearing them it seemed clear they were delinquents. The one directly in front of Ryu leaned in.

"You think you're so tough, don't ya freak?" He looked to be 16 or 17, tall and of decent build. He slammed a meaty fist directly into the side of the wall, just inches from Ryu's head.

"I've done nothing to you and have no wish for conflict." Ryu spoke calmly, seemingly wanting to deescalate the situation.

Instead his words made the boys laugh. "Oh yeah?" the same one continued. "Well you already have. You come into our town and act like you're hotshit just because you train in that dojo. I think it's time we teach you a lesson!"

His fist slammed into the side of Ryu's face. The Japanese youth barely flinched, even though Ken knew the blow had had to have hurt. Despite his current feud with the kid, he smiled.

 _Man they're in for it now. Ryu's going to own their asses._

But instead of unleashing his moves on the guys, Ryu just stood there, seemingly unwilling to retaliate. It seemed to be pissing the guys off.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Fight back. Or is that Gi just for show? Or are you too much of a coward, huh?"

"If you've made your point, I would like to leave now." Ryu crossed his arms and matched the leader's stare with one of his own.

"Heh. Not yet we haven't. Fine, you don't want to fight? That works. I'm fine with just kicking the shit out of you."

At once the three of them began to hit Ryu, kicking and punching him all over his body. Ryu made no effort to block any of the blows, which was odd. Ken knew he could. Hell, he could have probably blocked all of them! What the hell was he doing?

Another blow led Ryu to fall to the ground, and this seemed to embolden his attackers more. Snarling and laughing they continued to strike him, Ken growing increasingly frustrated. _Why isn't he doing anything?_ As much as he thought Ryu was lame he didn't deserve this!

Clenching his fists, he stepped into the alleyway before he realized what he was doing.

"Hey, fuckwits!"

Instantly all three stopped their attacks on Ryu and turned towards him, regarding the blonde with predatory eyes. It was about this time Ken decided he probably should have given this more thought.

"Who's this? Your boyfriend?" The leader asked the downed Ryu.

"No, I'm his training partner." Ken said, attempting to sound more intimidating than he felt. "And you all need to leave. Unless you want to tangle with me."

 _Shit, what am I doing? I'm no fighter, these guys could demolish me. But meh, Ryu's been demolishing me for weeks, if it comes to it I can handle one more beatdown._

"Oh yeah?" Said the boss, moving closer to Ken. "And just who the hell are you?"

"Me? I'm Ken Masters." He struck a pose.

"Never heard of you."

 _Ouch._

"Heh, your loss." he said, continuing the deception. "I'm only the number one fighter in the States. Why else do you think I came here?"

"What?"

"Well, no worthy opponents in America, so I came to Japan to look for some decent competition." He smirked. "That dude you're beating down? He's the only one I've ever had to break a sweat to beat. But he's good. Not as good as me, but like, I've seen him take down twenty men at once. He's only holding back to prevent himself from accidentally killing any of you."

"You're lying," said the leader, but he seemed a bit less certain now. Ken could see it in his eyes.

"Am I?" The American adopted the fighting stance he used during his sparring session. By now it came almost second nature to him. He may not have been able to really fight, but he knew he looked the part and the cocky look he had on his face cemented it. "You're welcome to test me then," he waved a gloved finger towards the gang, encouraging them to attack. "Come on! One thing though; unlike Ryu, I won't hold back. You guys can attack me all at once, if you want. Maybe it will be a little bit of a challenge then."

A long moment passed as both sides evaluated the other. The three delinquents stared at one another, having a silent conversation. gang leader looked away. "Peh! Just stay out of our town, _freak_. Take your partner and get lost back to the mountains." He brushed past Ken and left the alley, his friends following.

Ken held the position for several seconds before he felt confident enough to break it. He rushed further down the alley and examined Ryu. "You alright, dude?"

As it turned out, aside from a bit of dirt and bruising from the scuffle, the other teen's wounds were largely superficial. Still, he offered Ryu a hand and helped his partner up.

"Yes, I'm fine." Ryu looked at him in confusion. " But why did you get involved?"

"Dude, c'mon. I may think you're kinda lame but that's no reason for them to give you trouble. Besides, sparring partners stick together. Or heh... something like that."

"Thank you, Ken-San. Ken. I appreciate it."

"Yeah, no big." Ken grinned, but it quickly turned into a frown. "But hey, why the hell weren't you doing anything? I've seen you fight, dude. Hell, I've _felt_ you fight. You could totally have taken them!"

"I could have, yes. But it would have just caused problems. The townsfolk distrust us enough as it is. Had I fought three of them I would have besmirched our reputation further. "

"But they started it!"

"It does not matter," said Ryu, shaking his head. "It would be three of their words against my own, and they are locals. We would be seen as troublemakers."

"So you just let them beat you up?"

"I've trained in the arts since I was a child. I am used to pain, as well as how to reduce it. Nothing they could inflict on me is as harmful as they think it is. I would have let them think they had taught me a lesson and walked away nearly unscathed."

"So what's the point then? You learn all these moves and can't actually use them? Man, this is a bigger waste of time than I thought."

"Things are more complicated than that." Ryu explained. "I do not wish to bring trouble or shame to Master Gouken. And getting involved in fights would cause that." Ken opened his mouth to argue, causing the black haired youth to shake his head. "Please Ken. Let it go."

"Ugh, Fine. Whatever man."

The pair left the alleyway and began the long trek back home. But Ken was still feeling talkative.

"Hey, uh, Ryu?"

"Yes?"

"Sorry about the paper. I guess it was kind of selfish. I mean we should have been given some extra Yen just in case. But still. I don't want to bring trouble down on your neck."

"I do wish you had given it more thought before you acted." The youth admitted. "You can be...impulsive. But any punishment is well earned. I should have been watching you more carefully."

"What?"

"It was your first time away from the dojo. It makes sense you would have fallen easy prey to distractions. I should have stayed with you and kept an eye on you."

Ryu was giving him an out, and Ken appreciated it. Normally he'd have taken it eagerly, but for one of the first times in his life, he felt an urge to take some responsibility.

"Nah man... I should have just listened. I'm 14, I don't need like a babysitter or anything. It was my fault."

Ryu looked at him, seeming a bit surprised by the other youth's candor."I appreciate that, Ken. Between that admission and what you did back there, there may yet be hope for you."

"Hey!" came the blonde's offended reply.

Then the other teen smiled, conforming it had been a joke. And Ken felt himself crack up. He slapped the other teen appreciatively.

"Heh. You can be pretty funny man. Should try it more often."

"It was more of a half joke, really. I knew Master would not have taken you in if you were truly hopeless. But I am glad to see another side to you. You acted like a noble warrior today."

"Yeah, well, you know. Gotta do something with all the training. But you know what, Ryu?" The blonde lightly punched his friend in the arm and grinned.

"I could have taken them."

###

 **A/N:** Finally, some progress between Ryu and Ken. I know it was a long time coming, but it was satisfying to write. Ken still has a ways to go, but he's getting there.

This was the end of my stockpile of chapters, so no idea when the next chapter will be released. Hopefully soon though, as I have a general idea of what happens next. In the meantime, leave a review if you like, they're appreciated.

Until next time,

DA


	7. Chores and Conversations

By the time the teens made it back to the dojo it was nearly dusk. The conversation between them had naturally died out, Ken still finding it hard to get Ryu to open up. And really, how interested was he in doing so anyway?

Continuing up the path, they heard their master before they saw him. Gouken was out in the courtyard, performing a complicated series of punches and kicks against one of the training dummies. Judging by the large hole in the dummy's side and the sand leaking out of it, it was not long for this world. This was confirmed a second later, when Gouken finished his onslaught off with a brutal flying kick that tore open the middle of the dummy and sent bits of it flying everywhere as it collapsed in on itself. Despite himself, Ken flinched.

 _Yikes. Glad he's not used that move on me. Yet._

The martial artist seemed to sense his students presence and turned as they arrived, pausing in his training for the moment. "You were both gone for a long time."

"Forgive us Master," said Ryu. Approaching, he handed over the bag of supplies. "I was able to get most of what you wished, though not everything."

"What were you unable to retrieve?" asked Gouken, taking the bag from his student's hand.

"The copy of _Asahi Shimbun_ you requested."

"I see." Gouken let these words hang for a moment, silently regarding his student. So far he had not even looked at Ken, who remained back behind Ryu. "And why not?"

"We were short on money and unable to purchase it."

Ken's eyes went wide as Ryu lied to their Master, something he had never expected to see. Hell,he practically worshiped the man! And yeah, even if it was kind of the truth, Ryu was neglecting to mention the blonde's blame in the matter. Was that some form of payback for what he had done earlier?

Gouken tilted his head. "That is very interesting, Ryu. I have sent you to town for years now to retrieve my goods, and you have always returned with everything I asked for. It is rather surprising that that would change during this particular trip. Ken's first."

Ryu was starting to look uncomfortable, not that Ken could blame him. He had given it a valiant effort, but Gouken had seen right through it. Taking a breath, he stepped forward, a part of him surprised he was willing to do this at all. But payback went both ways, right?

"Eh... that was my fault, Master. Ryu gave me the money to buy the paper while he went to get everything else. Instead I spent it playing an arcade game."

Gouken starred at him, his expression neutral.

"But uh, I got the high score? So it was money well spent?"

The stare did not change, but it shifted to Ryu.

"And why did you attempt to hide this from me, Ryu?"

"Forgive me Master. But Ken was my responsibility. I should have watched over him more..."

"Nah dude, I told you it was my own fault." The American insisted.

Gouken raised an eyebrow at this interjection, but said nothing.

"Ken also helped me. Some of the locals ambushed me while I was alone. He intervened and they fled."

"I see." The older man looked to Ken, and there was a glimmer of something in his stare. Pride? Respect? Or was that just what he wanted to see? "Regardless of your prior thoughtlessness, I am impressed that you stood up for your training partner. Tell me, how did you scare them off?"

"Eh," Ken shrugged. "Just acted like I knew what I was doing. They didn't seem to want to fight someone who they thought would fight back. Not that I blame them. Ryu could have messed them up had he wanted to. But, yeah. It's no big, really."

His Sensei considered. "Though it in no way makes up for your prior selfishness, I am encouraged by your attempt to redeem yourself. Therefore, I shall go easy on you and simply warn you not to waste the money I give you again. If you do, the consequences will be far more severe. Am I understood?"

"Yes Master."Ken said, a grin spreading across his face in his relief. He could hardly believe he had gotten off so easy!

"However, regardless of Ken's actions, it does not excuse yours, Ryu. You attempted to deceive me."

And just like that, Ken felt his mood drop. Sure he had his differences with the other teen, but he knew the sort of punishments Gouken gave out. Suddenly he felt pretty bad for the dude. He had had a perfect track record until now. And Ryu was going to lose it because of him.

"Forgive me Master." Ryu said, his voice full of despair. "I acted shamefully and accept whatever punishment you feel that I deserve." He bowed his head and awaited his master's judgment.

And yet again, Ken felt himself move forward.

"Yeah, uh, he was only trying to protect me. I mean I really appreciate it dude," he gave an appreciate nod to Ryu before continuing, "but if I had just bought the stupid paper he'd have had no reason to lie. And he'd probably not have been ambushed either."

"What are you trying to say?" questioned Gouken

"I guess..." he sighed in defeat, his victory short lived. "I guess if you're going to punish Ryu, I deserve it too."

 _There's my good deed for the week. There was a time not long ago I'd happily have let him take all the blame. I've clearly been hit in the head too much._

"Noted. So it shall be." The martial artist turned to regard Ryu. "The usual punishment for deception is flogging."

Ken cringed. To think there would come a time when he was _hoping_ to be spanked.

"But I find both of your actions today encouraging. Misguided, but encouraging. You both stood up for one another when it would have been far more beneficial not to do so. I am glad that you both have started to look out for one another. Even if you have chosen foolish ways to express it.

"As a result, this once I shall give you both a lighter punishment than you deserve."

 _Huh, it worked out for us both. Maybe honesty is the best policy._

"Grab the rags and clean the entire dojo. Every speck of it."

 _...Or not._

"I suggest you both get to work. It will take well into the night. And there will be no dinner for either of you until you finish."

Ken looked towards Ryu, pleased to see that the Japanese youth for once looked somewhat dismayed as well. But upon noticing Ken he gave an assertive nod and seemed to psych himself up for it. Having no alternative, Ken returned a thumbs up.

"Need I repeat myself? Get to work."

Both boys bowed and headed off inside. And Ken reflected that here, there truly was no rest for the wicked.

###

Gouken hadn't lied to them. It did in fact take well into the night.

Ken had gotten better at cleaning over the weeks and did not need to redo areas nearly as much, but the sheer size of the task was daunting. The American had never considered the dojo to be anything but small and cramped before, but he was starting to reevaluate that notion. Even Ryu seemed to struggle with it, and the pair worked in silence (apart from the occasional curse from Ken) until well past midnight. Still, between them both they eventually finished, and the boys scarfed down their dinner before staggering into their freshly cleaned bedroom. The floor truly sparkled, and Ken felt confident enough in his work to think that one could eat off it. He also felt confident that sooner or later he'd have to.

Settling into his futon, Ken prepared to drift off to sleep, exhausted from the long day. This night though, Ryu surprised him. Usually the teen would meditate before bed, but instead, he spoke.

"Ken?"

"Hmm?" The blonde opened one eye, finding the sleep which had been fast approaching was already fleeing from him.

"Thank you for today."

"Oh, that?" he yawned. "Yeah, no problem. Besides, not like I helped you all that much. A flogging would have at least been quicker!"

"Not that," Ryu shook his head. "Well, not _just_ that. You spoke up for me twice today. I wanted to let you know I appreciate it. And that I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Ken sat up, adopting Ryu's own cross-legged pose. "For what?" He couldn't imagine why Ryu was apologizing to him.

"I snapped at you earlier. I accused you of being self centered and not even attempting to fit in here. But the truth is, you are making an effort. Today confirmed it. I should have seen it earlier."

"Thanks, man," Ken replied, appreciative. "But you were right. I was being a bit of a brat. I knew Master Gouken would punish me... but it never even occurred to me you'd get in trouble too. I know how important it is to you to, like, live up to his standards. I was wrong."

"There is enough blame to go around. But I am glad you wish to share in it," the youth said, half a smile upon his face. "Ken, I know this life was not what you were expecting..."

"Not at all, "Ken admitted with a harsh laugh. "I really thought I'd have the 'old man' wrapped around my finger. I thought he'd be a soft touch, and all the warnings my mom gave me were just her attempts to scare me straight. I mean, to be fair, my folks have a pretty shitty track record when it comes to warnings. I was sure he'd be easy to break. "

The darker haired teen offered him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry it took you so long to realize that was not the case."

"You and me both dude." he sighed.

"Still, Master Gouken is well intentioned. Everything he teaches us is designed to make us better as both martial artists and as people."

"Eh... kind of feel like all his lessons are wasted on me."

"Why?"

"I mean, come on dude. The only reason he took me in was because he was friends with my mom like a million years ago. It's clear I have no interest in martial arts. Or talent in it, for that matter."

Ken expected this was a rather noncontroversial point, so he was surprised when Ryu frowned. "That's not true at all. Master Gouken sees potential in you. As do I."

"Heh." he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I doubt that."

"I've lived here my entire life, at least that which I can remember. Ken, do you know how many people have come asking for Master Gouken to train them?"

Ken shrugged, so Ryu continued.

"There have been a few dozen. Many of them were powerful warriors in their own right, versed in a variety of combat styles. And most were as respectful and eager to learn from Master as me. You may not know this, but Master Gouken is one of the last teachers of our art. He's well regarded as one of the finest warriors in the world. A living legend."

"And?" Ken asked, still not sure why he should care.

"He refused them all his tutelage, no matter how impressive they were, and no matter how willing they were to learn. None of them met his standards."

"One thing I've definitely learned is that he has ridiculously high standards," admitted Ken. "But that just proves my point. He only took me in as a favor, instead of a more qualified student who was actually, y'know, good at all this."

Again Ryu shook his head. "Traditionally our Master's style has only been taught to pairs. The thinking goes that two pupils balance one another and bring out the best in each other. But Master did not feel that any of the ones who sought him out for training were a suitable partner for me to learn with. He mentioned once that they were too much like myself and would not 'challenge' me. I did not understand what he meant, then. But I am beginning to.

"And," he continued, "there's something else. What Master said the day before you arrived."

###

 _The day had been an ordinary one. Master had drilled me relentlessly, and it was only after we settled in for our usual dinner that he broached the matter._

 _"Ryu."_

 _"Yes, Master?" I responded. Rare was conversation as we dined; Master rarely saw fit for small talk. I expected he was going to point out a mistake he had made during the day's training, or offer some advice for improvement._

 _"Your training will be suspended for tomorrow. Instead you are to ensure that the dojo is in pristine condition. We will be receiving guests."_

 _"Of course, Master." Hearing my affirmation, Master Gouken returned to his food. It was a clear indication that he considered the conversation over. I attempted to do the same, but after a moment I admit that I found curiosity had gotten the better of me.  
_

 _"Master? If I may, who will be arriving tomorrow?" Guests were rare here, and their arrivals were always something of a source of excitement for me. Much as I love and idolize Master Gouken as both a Father and a Sensei, it did get rather lonely at times._

 _"An old friend of mine from long ago," Master explained. " She married an American and moved to that country. They're bringing their son to me to evaluate for training. He is apparently a troublemaker and requires some discipline, and she thinks training in our art would be good for him."_

 _"You are going to take on a new student?" I asked, trying and surely failing to keep the excitement from taking over my voice._

 _"Nothing is decided yet. Much as I owe Megumi, I first must ensure that her son is a good fit for training. But he is around your age, and if he proves satisfactory I think that I will indeed take him on as a pupil. It is about time you had a partner to train with. I have perhaps neglected that for too long. Still," he continued, "let us not get ahead of ourselves. There is yet much to do before I make a final decision." His tone indicated he considered the matter over, I dropped the subject and returned to my food._

 _But I was excited to meet with one my age, and sleep did prove difficult that night.  
_

 _###_

For once Ken was quiet, contemplating what he had just heard. He thought back to that first day. Indeed, Gouken had spent some time examining him before anything else.

 _He is acceptable. I believe he will make a fine student._

At the time Ken had been annoyed, but now knowing how many others the old man had turned away before, he actually felt kind of proud. Somehow he had impressed his Master. But how?

"That's... pretty cool to know, actually. But I don't really get it." Seeing Ryu's puzzled expression, he elaborated. "Dude, I _suck_. I mean, I've failed at pretty much everything Gouken's tried to teach me, and everyone of our sparring sessions have ended with me on the losing side. I don't, like, get it. Whatever potential he thought I had... I'm pretty sure he no longer thinks I have it." _And when the hell did I start to care what the old man thought, anyway?_

"If he felt you were hopeless he would have sent you away by now." Ryu insisted.

"Whatever. I just don't know what he expects. I haven't improved, like, at all."

"I disagree."

"You really don't need to pity me dude, I..."

"I'm not pitying you." Ryu's tone was firm. "You've been here for only a few weeks, but already I have seen much progression in that time. And I know Master Gouken has as well." Ken looked skeptical, so he continued. "When I first saw you, you were..." he searched for the right word.

"A dick?"

"No. Well...rather difficult, not to mention entitled. You seemed to think yourself above us and were not shy in showing it."

Ken smirked. "Yeah, I did think you were kind of lame, bro."

"But you don't seem so arrogant anymore. You're actually talking to me now without sounding as if it is painful for you to do so. If I may say, it is a refreshing change."

"Well it's kind of hard to be arrogant when you've shown you can kick my ass time and again." The blonde pointed out. "Still, yeah. You're not as bad as I first thought. Sometimes you even border on cool."

Seeming to appreciate the admission, Ryu smiled before continuing. "Still, it's more than just how you address us, but your actions as well. Would the Ken I met that first day have stepped into that alleyway back in town?'

"No," Ken admitted. "I'd probably have left you to it. I might have even laughed and cheered them on. Probably have recorded it or something and posted it online." _Man, I was kind of a dick_.

"And would you have spoken up on my behalf to Master when we got back? Willingly accepted a punishment you felt you deserved?"

"I don't think I'd have felt I deserved _any_ punishment." Ken said. "Not that I think this was deserved now. I mean, c'mon. I got the high score, and I've been bored for so long..." he began, but Ryu's stare and the fact that his own words rung hollow led him to abandon this defense. "Nah dude... you're right. I messed up and got you in trouble. I had to try and fix that, man. But to answer your question, no. I'd have let you take the blame. It's kinda what I've done my entire life."

The older teen smiled. "Then you have grown."

"I guess, yeah." Ken acknowledged. He hadn't really thought of it like that before, but it made sense. "But I still don't know what that has to do with martial arts."

"There's more to martial arts than just combat proficiency," Ryu said. "But Ken, I know you have potential in them as well."

"Oh yeah? And how do I unlock it?"

"Stop whining so much."

"Hey!" Ken protested, the unusually direct answer pissing him off. "You were just telling me how much of a better person I've become. Now you're saying I'm whining?"

"Yes, you have made great strides," Ryu assured him. "But whenever we practice our _katas_ or spar, you seem more focused on complaining than learning from it. You seem determined to view our training as a burden, and suffer for it."

Ken tilted his head. Yeah, he did whine a lot, but it was hard to do anything _but_. The constant beatdowns and reminders of just how much he sucked compared to Ryu(not to mention Gouken) were frustrating.

"I know this was not what you were expecting and that you still do not wish to be here. But you _are_ here, and the training will continue regardless. You can continue to sulk and find it miserable, or you can try to learn something from it." He smiled. "I think you will find our art more rewarding if you make an effort to learn it. Or at least, less painful."

"That would be nice." Ken smirked, but his smile faded as he grew thoughtful. "But maybe you're right." In truth, he knew he had been slacking off, and it hadn't gotten him anything but a sore body and a pile of chores. "I could try harder to actually pick up the stuff."

"I'm glad to hear it." his sparring partner said, encouraged."Though you deny it, I know there is a warrior's spirit within you. All you need to do is embrace it."

"You really think so?" Ken asked, skeptical but curious. He really didn't see it, but Ryu seemed confident.

Again his friend nodded. "I saw it in the way you entered that alleyway today. It was more than just standing up for me. I saw _you_ , Ken. There was a fire in your eyes. An anticipation that comes from before a fight. A certain energy. Win or lose, you were ready to unleash it."

The blonde said nothing, considering. And Ryu seemed content to leave him to sort out his thoughts.

"Regardless, we should go to bed. Master will have us up before long."

"Yeah, I don't think he'll be cutting us a break despite working us to the bone today. But thanks for the pep talk, dude. You've given me some things to think about."

"It is no trouble. Goodnight, Ken."

"Yeah, night Ryu."

Both boys laid down once again. Ryu was asleep within moments, but Ken stayed awake for some time. His hands under his head, he stared up at the ceiling and thought back on his friend's words.

He had felt nervous as hell confronting those thugs earlier. It had been stupid, nerve-wracking, and made him want to vomit. But thinking back, he realized it had also been invigorating. Ken wasn't sure he had ever felt as alive as when he had stepped into that alley and faced down three others. He could remember every second of it, every minute detail. It was scary and stupid and crazy and epic.

The words Gouken had offered to him his first night here flashed in his head.

 _Men either find hidden strength when confronted with adversity, or they collapse in defeat._

Maybe, Ken reasoned, it was time for him to do the former.

###

 **A/N:** An important chapter behind us as Ken takes a major step forward. Well done, Ken. You've made this author proud.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Vammy:** Thanks as always for the kind words. Glad you're enjoying this so far, and hope this chapter did not disappoint. Yeah, the friendship between Ryu and Ken is really interesting to explore. They're opposites in so many ways, so it was fun to explore the tension and early clashes between them. But I'm looking forward to moving them forward and having them transition into friends(and of course rivals.) Though Ken's changes are probably more notable, I'm enjoying chronicling Ryu's evolution as well, and hopefully they'll become more notable going forward.

 **Ultimolu:** Hey, thanks a ton for the praise. It was nice to wake up to see 6 new reviews. :P

I'm glad you enjoyed how I wrote Ken. He's very much meant to be unsympathetic at the start of this. I figured he'd have to be a colossal ass to explain why his family took such drastic measures to straighten him out. Part of me's going to miss the sheer arrogance and cheekiness as we proceed, it was fun to write. I enjoyed writing his folks as well and they may pop up in the future.

Yeah, Gouken did indeed give him a major attitude adjustment, but hopefully it came across as well deserved. :P

As for Gouki and the tournaments (awesome name for a band) I conceived this story as being largely about Ken's early training days, so I don't think much of that will be showing up beyond a hint or two. But who knows, if reception is good and I get ideas I might always expand on it at some point.

I'd say around chapter 4 is about the time when Ken realized, "Oh shit, this guy means business." Chapter 5 and on just cemented that. Fortunately for him he's starting to catch on on how to avoid pissing Gouken off so much.

Really glad I could entertain you with this dumb little project of mine. Hope to keep you onboard as we move forward.

Thanks a lot to all my readers, including the silent ones. Feel free to leave a review if you like, they're always nice to see. Not sure how long we have left, but I hope to keep you all entertained till the very end.

Until next time,

DA


	8. Warrior's Birth

"Your kick lacked power. Perform it again."

As ever, Gouken remained a strict teacher. Though they were only halfway through their morning warmup, Ken was drenched in sweat. Normally it was about this time that the blonde more or less gave up trying. But this time, he persisted. Spinning himself around, he repeated the move.

"Adequate." came his Master's reply. But Ken was starting to realize getting any real praise from the man was as hard as squeezing blood from a stone. In his time here he hadn't even heard Ryu praised all that much. So he decided to take it as the closest to a compliment that he was likely to get, and felt encouraged.

Their morning _katas_ continued for several more minutes before the sparring begun. Bowing to Ryu before he fell back into his combat stance, Ken focused. He knew from experience that Ryu would strike out at him first, and he examined the other fighter for any hint of what was to come.

"Begin!"

Ryu's fist flew out. Like always, it was as fast as a snake uncurling to bite at its prey. But Ken had witnessed — _felt_ — this move dozens of times over the past few weeks, and he realized that he had picked up enough to know it was coming.

Almost unconsciously his own arm shot up to block. Ryu's punch collided harmlessly with it, it's force significantly reduced from the impact it would have had upon hitting his torso.

Both boys seemed stunned by this turn of events. Ryu blinked, and a broad smile shot across his face. "Nice work, Ken."

"Heh. Nothing to it!" Ken laughed, kind of amazed he had done so(but in no way willing to admit it.) A confidence surged through him, and with it came a familiar bravado. "But save your compliments, 'cause I'm not done yet. Today's the day you're going down!"

"A basic block. Anyone with rudimentary skill could have performed it." came Gouken's comment, his voice sounding disinterested . "Do not be overconfident. Still... it is more potential than you have shown so far. Well done."

 _Well done?_ Ken was shocked. Had he just gotten an actual compliment?

"Thanks, Master." he bowed his head, humbled.

"Now let us see if it was just a fluke. Both of you, proceed."

"Right!" Ken said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Like I said dude, you're..."

Ryu's kick caught him off guard and knocked him flat on his ass.

"Another lesson for you. Do not celebrate before the fight is finished." Gouken almost sounded amused.

Ken decided that his training was still very much a work in progress. But for the first time, he was sort of okay with that.

###

The rest of the session proved difficult. Even with Ken's newfound focus, Ryu still outclassed him in every way.

But things were no longer entirely one sided either. Ken blocked several of his friend's attacks, and as their sparring proceeded he actually found that he was learning from it and blocking more of them, which encouraged him to shake off his fatigue and continue to fight. Most of Ryu's strikes still hit him; one spar wouldn't change that. But even in his failure, Ken noticed improvement. He wasn't staggering back quite as far, and he was maintaining his stance even under pressure, not having his defenses immediately collapse utterly as they had been in the past. It was motivating.

But by far the best indicator of his progress was that he had actually managed to hit Ryu a few times. Though a skilled fighter, occasionally his friend overextended himself, and Ken was beginning to learn to take advantage of any opportunity he gave him. More than once he blocked a strike and immediately countered, scoring a nice hit through Ryu's defenses. He wasn't able to knock his opponent down that day, but a few of the blows looked like they hurt. And after all the pain his friend had caused him, Ken was petty enough to enjoy returning the favor.

By the end of their sparring match he was exhausted, but this time the blonde felt it had actually been productive. Most satisfying of all was that for once Ryu was in the same state. Both boys were breathing heavily, the swear pouring off them from a hard workout. They both looked ready to collapse, and Ken at least was utterly spent. It didn't completely stop him from wanting to go another round, though. Not when he could feel himself getting better.

"It would seem you have finally caused Ryu to need to put effort into his sparring." Gouken said. His arms crossed, he regarded his two students with a piercing stare. "It must be said that it is about time. He wasn't going to get any better with the pitiful sparring you were previously putting up."

"You both performed adequately. Ken, you showed more initiative than you have previously, and you learned from Ryu's moves and adjusted accordingly. Ryu, you observed the greater challenge Ken was presenting and adjusted your tactics to match him.

"Thank you Master." Ryu panted out.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Mind, both of you have deficiencies that need to be corrected." he looked to Ken. "There were several opportunities where Ryu left himself open for a reprisal attack, particularly after that last kick. He expected it to take you down; it did not. You should have countered during his momentary surprise. Instead, you let the moment pass. Do not allow it to happen again.

"Ryu. As for you, despite Ken's overall improvement you are still by far his superior in skill. That he was able to strike you at all was unexpected and disappointing. You underestimated him, and it was his greatest advantage. Let this be a lesson to you. You may fight a man one thousand times and find him trivial, only to lose to him in your thousandth and first duel. Always assume your opponent is skilled enough to defeat you, and treat each fight with the seriousness it requires."

Both his students gave a bow and indicated they took their teacher's words to heart.

"Now, let us proceed." Gouken nodded to the training dummies. "Get to work."

Wiping off his forehead, Ken looked to Ryu and grinned, getting an encouraging nod in return. Then they turned their attention to the dummies and began to pummel them.

###

So it was that Ken's training began in earnest.

The next month wasn't easy. If anything, it was even harder. Gouken seemed to take Ken's small improvements as a positive sign, and he drilled the blonde relentlessly, seeking to purge any remainders of weakness. 100 pushups became 200. A two mile run became four. The endless training was exhausting, and there were days when Ken came close to giving up. Getting up at the crack of dawn still sucked, as did cleaning the dojo for the umpteenth time, and eating the same bland food. And pushing his body made it ache like never before. More than once the American crawled into bed in complete agony, and he woke up in the morning feeling little better, having only the prospect of doing it all again to look forward to. At times like these he thought he was crazy for even trying to keep up with Ryu and his Master, and he wanted nothing more than to throw in the towel and quit.

But he never did. And gradually, he adapted.

The _katas_ which had exhausted him so much in the beginning and he had struggled to keep track of became like second nature to him. He became a perfect replica of Gouken and Ryu, the three of them performing punches and kicks in harmony as one.

His formally soft hands and feet became hard and callused, forged into weapons as fine as any steel by the intense training he was undergoing. The old Ken, a stranger to anything approaching hard work, would have hated this loss of his pampered status. But now he looked at it as a sign of just how far he was progressing. The posts he trained on no longer caused him much in the way of discomfort, and he was finding it easier to tear through their training dummy's. The first time he had knocked a solid hole through one of them had been immensely satisfying. ( _Perhaps I shall have to use a stronger material, Gouken had remarked, and Ken knew the man well enough by now to know he was quietly impressed.)_

The endurance exercises grew easier as well. Ken found he hardly ever lost his balance on the rocks now, and he was constantly improving on his record. (His longest so far was just over two and a half hours.) He could navigate across the river with ease, jumping from rock to rock like he had done it all his life. Ryu was still slightly faster than him, but it only pushed him on more.

And the pushups and other exercises took almost nothing out of him at all. Ken had been able to do maybe ten when he got here, perhaps twenty if he cheated. But now he was knocking out two hundred a day, and not having to exert any effort until near the end. He caught up to Ryu in pullups, and recently he had taken to challenging the dude to see who could do more without dropping. (Ken usually still lost these contests, but he appreciated the competition.) His endurance had also improved, and he found himself able to run from the dojo to the river and back without getting anything more than slightly winded. This was really nice: the long walk had been a pain.

And he was noticing changes to his physique as well. His slender form had definitely filled out, and he was actually happy the _Gi's_ did not have sleeves that would prevent him from showing off his guns. Ken had always been pretty sexy (at least, in his unbiased opinion) and girls had always been into him, but now he knew he'd really have to fight them off with a stick. Or by using his sick martial arts moves.

Not that he planned to fight them off _that_ hard.

If there was one area he still struggled with, it was the meditation training. Both Ryu and Gouken had a certain serenity that Ken lacked. He wasn't the type for quiet contemplation, and progress was slow and frustrating. This was the source of most of Ken's punishments these days, though even these had declined pretty significantly. But what they now lacked in quantity they more than made up for in quality. His Master showed him no mercy, and Ken felt the back of his hand or the crack of a sharp branch against his flesh more than once. They hurt like hell, but the embarrassment and shame he felt was honestly even worse. Because whenever they happened, he felt like a screw up. But instead of getting discouraged Ken learned from these punishments, and he was gradually beginning to overcome his remaining hurdles.

And then there was the sparring. Though he had initially hated it, Ken now found it to be his favorite part of their daily training. He supposed that actually being able to fight back now made the process a lot more enjoyable. He had improved rapidly, which had led Ryu to step up his own game. Still, Ken could tell he was catching up. He blocked a lot of his friend's attacks now, and many of his fierce assaults now got through the Japanese youth's defenses, often drawing blood or leaving a nasty bruise. Above all else he always kept Ryu on his toes now, and both fighters had to give it their all if they wanted to win.

And Ken was hungry for a win. Starving, honestly.

But despite all his improvements, Ken had yet to actually win one against Ryu. Sometimes he came frustratingly close, and it had seemed on more than one occasion like he had worn Ryu down to where he could actually win their next spar. But, before he could, Gouken would always declare an end to their sparring and assign the pair another task. It sucked, but Ken knew better than to argue.

Besides, the boys were not under Gouken's eye all day. And sometimes, Ken took advantages of these opportunities to ask for a rematch. Perhaps surprisingly, Ryu always obliged.

###

"Ooof!"

Ken's body crashed to the earth, the impact knocking the wind out of him. Though he had learned how to fall so as to maintain some momentum, that time he had been caught completely off guard, and he chided himself mentally for it.

"Nice try, Ken." Ryu knelt down and offered him a hand up. "I thought you may have had me that time."

"You and me both dude. Fuck." Ken took his training partner's hand and got to his feet. "I was so close, man. So close."

Indeed, he had been. Ryu had left himself open for a three punch combo that Ken had executed perfectly. His friend had staggered back and looked unbalanced, so Ken prepared to follow up with a harsh uppercut that would have sent the dude into the air and toppling down to the ground. Instead Ryu had surprised him by performing a leg sweep and Ken's legs had been pulled out from under him, sending him down instead.

"It was a good match. There's no shame in your performance. You've come a long way."

"Don't give me that, dude. That was an obvious attack you pulled on me. I should have seen it coming."

"Well, yes." Ryu offered a gentle smile. "But there was room for improvement for both of us in that fight. I'm sure if Master Gouken were here he'd be eager to fill us in on our many deficiencies." It was the closest Ken had heard Ryu come to ribbing their teacher, and he laughed and punched him in the shoulder in appreciation.

"True enough. Then he'd probably make us, like, drop and do a hundred pushups or something. Then clean the dojo for good measure." His gaze turning mischievous, the blonde stepped back and smirked. "Anyway, you ready for another round, man? This time I'm gonna be helping _you_ up."

Ken expected Ryu to oblige him, so was surprised when his friend shook his head. " We've done enough for now. Let's catch the fish Master wanted, before we're both too exhausted to do so."

"Dude, come on!" Ken whined, frustrated. "I'm so close to beating you. What are you, chicken?"

"No, but neither am I a sadist. I can tell by looking at you that you're spent."

"I'll show you spent!" Ken shot his leg out and aimed a kick directly at Ryu's face. Without missing a beat, Ryu hand shot up and he calmly blocked Ken's foot. Then he pushed him back a few steps. Ken briefly struggled to maintain his balance once again, but ultimately succeeded without going down.

"Don't overexert yourself, Ken." His partner said more seriously. "Fighters need to know their limits. I know you're eager to take me down, but it won't be today."

"Says you," said Ken, though he knew Ryu was right. That last kick had been slow, and he didn't think he was capable of performing much better at the moment.

"You've come a long way in a short time," the older teen encouraged. "Not everyone could make such progress in a year, let alone a month. Be proud of that."

"I feel like there's a 'but' coming."

"That's because there is." Ryu smiled. "Ken, you have a natural affinity for this. But you are overeager. And until you're able to temper that anticipation, that desire for victory, and avoid letting it overwhelm you, you'll never be able to win."

Ken frowned. "Well, that sucks."

"Think of it as the next step in your training." His friend advised. "But seriously, well done. I've been training in this art a decade, and you've already become a worthy opponent to me."

"Heh," the blonde grinned. "You saying we're equals, dude?"

In response, the Japanese teen reached out and grabbed Ken by the front of his _Gi._ Pulling him forward, he easily lifted his friend up over his head and slammed him down hard onto the ground.

"Not quite." He smiled before once again offered Ken his hand, who after a moment accepted it.

"Point taken...ouch dude. To think you were going _easy_ on me before. Maybe that is enough for today."

Ryu clasped his shoulder and looked at him earnestly. "Do not get discouraged. As I've said, when we fight I need to give it everything I've got to be sure of defeating you. Even now, I look forward to our fights because you push me to my limits and even lead me to exceed them. I'm quite confident the day will come when we will truly be equals."

"That day's gonna come soon, bro." Ken boasted, his cockiness already returning. "Cause trust me dude, I ain't leaving here until I can kick your ass with one arm tied behind my back."

A flicker of something passed in Ryu's expression then, and for a moment he looked genuinely troubled. But he spoke before Ken could decide whether or not he wanted to ask him about it. "I look forward to seeing you try. But, for now, shall we get the fish Master wanted?"

Rubbing his shoulder, the younger teen nodded. "I'm totally going to score a bigger one, dude."

"You make everything into a competition." Ryu chided, as the boys began to head towards the river.

"Um, that's because I'm better at everything!"

"Except fighting, as we've just seen."

"You want to go again, man? "

"Perhaps after you've recovered from your prior beatdown."

The boasting continued on both sides the rest of that day, and both of them brought back enough fish to last a week. And Ken felt certain he had scored the bigger one.

If he squinted a little.

###

Ken lay in bed, listening as Ryu snored.

That was the thing that probably most surprised him about his friend. Ryu was quiet, practically serene during the day. But when he slept he snored loud enough to wake the dead. At first Ken had hated it. And even now, he couldn't say he was all that fond of it. But the blonde also recognized an opportunity when he saw one.

Ryu was a guy of tremendous willpower. The dude rarely reacted to anything. But Ken had recently discovered a certain phobia his friend seemed to have. They had been training that day when a spider had gotten near Ryu's foot. It was only a small thing, probably not even fully grown, but the youth had quickly jumped back and moved to reposition his feet as far away as he could from it. Naturally, Ken had noticed. He had been quite the prankster back home, and so far not even strict martial arts training had been able to purge him of that trait.

So it had only been natural that Ken had found a bigger spider when he had gone out to do his business that night, and brought it back to his room. Rising from his futon, he regarded the creature he held in his hand. The thing was entirely brown colored and larger than his fist, its legs wiggling all about. Yeah, it was ready to go. All it needed was a destination.

As silently as he could he made his way over to Ryu's sleeping form. The dude's mouth was wide open, and trickles of drool were actually at the edges of it. Ken almost cracked up at the sight of his friend looking so unlike himself, but he forced himself to be quiet. Leaning down, he gently released the creature onto his buddy's face. As he hoped, the spider immediately went for the nearest hole.

A few seconds passed before Ryu woke up. Ken was quite impressed with how quickly he progressed from groggy, to confused, to horrified.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

His fist shot out into the air, the American only barely managing to dodge it. "Huh. I guess my training's really paying off." he remarked nonchalantly, continuing to watch Ryu.

Screaming all the while, his friend struggled to fit both of his hands into his mouth. But he eventually did so, and out came the still squirming creature. Ryu's hands proved unusually shaky however, and he dropped the spider right on his exposed chest, the creature quickly fleeing down into the safety and darkness of his _Gi_.

Ken leaned back and roared with laughter.

"GAHHHHH! GETITOFFGETITOFF!"... Truly panicking now, Ryu ripped his outfit off in record time. Finding the spider crawling down his bare leg and uncomfortably close to his crotch, he lifted the thing off him with one hand and threw it against the wall. Both boys watched in mild amazement as the creature survived and quickly scurried up the wall and out of sight.

"Nice throw, dude."

" _You_." Ryu looked at him, for the first time Ken could remember really well and truly pissed.

"Mouth was open, bro." Ken shrugged, as if that explained everything. "Oh, just so you know, you apparently eat, like, eight of those things a year. I read it on the internet onetime. So sweet dre..."

Ryu's pillow hit him square in the face.

###

The next's day, after Ryu had "accidentally" kicked Ken in the balls for the third time, the blonde briefly wondered if he had made the right call. Collapsed on the ground in a fetal position, his eyes filling with tears from the pain, it didn't take him long to decide.

 _Hell yeah. Still worth it._

###

 **A/N:** And so the legend is truly born. I know it's been a long time coming, but I hope you guys enjoyed seeing Ken finally embracing his destiny. It was really fun to slowly lay the groundwork for it and finally bring the Ken we all know and love(or love to hate) into being. I don't know about you guys, but I had his theme song on repeat all throughout this chapter.

He still can be a dick, mind. But at least Ryu won't be keeping his mouth open while he sleeps anymore. Really, he should be _grateful._

 **Review Responses:**

 **Ultimolu:** Right on, Ken's done slacking off. He's motivated by a desire to beat Ryu now, and that's going to propel him forward, at least initially. He's not quite at the level of Ryu yet, but he's putting his all into it and determined to be. The next chapter or two will really continue to showcase his evolution in that regard. As I recall you kind of disliked Ken at the start, but hopefully he's becoming more likable, his little prank aside. I've really wanted to trace his character development without getting rid of all of the mischievousness and cocky behavior that are kind of his trademarks. Hopefully I've hit the mark without leaning too far in one direction or another.

 **Vammy** : Thanks a lot for the praise, glad you're still enjoying. I've always enjoyed Ryu and Ken's relationship and it's been fun exploring that. Ken's a deeper character than he may seem originally, but then so is Ryu. I like to think they both learned a lot from each other. I don't think the Ryu of chapter 2 would have been so... _open_ with his displeasure after Ken's prank, for example. It may sound weird, but to me Ryu kicking Ken's ass afterwards is actually a sign of their growing bond, lol.

Not sure when the next chapter will be up. (I've yet to start it, and usually I like to have it at least half finished before posting a new one, but I was excited to share this one with you guys) but hopefully soon. Until then, feel free to leave your thoughts.

Until next time,

DA


	9. Two Types of Therapy

"Hey, Ryu. Let me ask you something."

Ken laid lazily on his futon, his hands behind his head and his legs stretched out, one on top of the other.

"Yes?" His friend replied, looking up from the book he was reading. Ken was pretty sure he had largely forgiven him for the stunt he had pulled the other day, but he noted with satisfaction the dude was definitely more of a light sleeper now. When Ken had gotten up last night to take a piss, Ryu had kept a close eye on his movements until he returned to his futon.

"So yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Are you and Master related?"

Ryu set his book aside, apparently deciding this was going to be a long conversation. "Not by blood, no. But in all other ways, yes. He is my father."

"Huh," Ken nodded. "So uh, where are your folks? You mentioned once that you've been here pretty much your whole life."

"I never knew my parents." Ryu explained. "According to Master Gouken, I was left here when I was only a few months old. He found me outside the dojo in a small basket, with a note requesting he take care of me."

"Wow." Ken blinked, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. "Dude.. that's uh, heavy. Sorry man."

"It is no trouble." his friend assured him. "I am grateful for it. Whoever dropped me off realized they could not take care of me, so they gave me to someone who could. And as I've said, in all but blood Master Gouken is my father."

Ken looked a bit skeptical, so he continued. "You know him only as a teacher, but I knew him first as a father. He taught me to walk, read to me, and carried me around on his back. When I was sick, he'd brew up tea and sit by me until I fell asleep."

"Wow. That doesn't sound like him at all," Ken admitted.

"I did not start learning martial arts until I was a bit older, around four. Until then, Master was solely focused on being my father. He is stricter as a teacher than he is as a parent."

"I would hope so," Ken mumbled.

"He still disciplined me and made sure I did not act out. But he was a bit more relaxed and devoted to my well being. It may surprise you, but I had a happy childhood. I would not change anything about it."

"Glad to hear it, man." Ken said. He was starting to realize just what had made Ryu into the man he was today. Ken briefly wondered if he'd have been any different if he had been raised here. Hell, if they had switched childhoods, would he have been the quiet, studious one, and Ryu the loud, boastful performer?

...yeah, much as he had learned to like the guy, he was glad they had each had their respective childhoods. Imagining either of them any other way was _weird_.

"What was your life like growing up?" Ryu asked in turn.

Ken grinned. "You kinda know it all already, dude. I was a brat and out of control. Why I'm shacking with you for the summer."

"Well yes, I know that. But you were acting out even when young?"

"I'm not sure when it started," admitted Ken. "I don't think I was a wild child or anything until I turned ten or so. Before that I was just, I dunno. Average."

"What changed?"

Ken was about to shrug again, but he realized that he did know the answer. "My folks. I love them and all, don't get me wrong, but they were never the most interested in raising me. Most of my care was handed off to the staff or whoever, while my dad ran his company and my mom played the role of the society wife. There would be weeks I'd only barely see either of them.

An old memory came to mind then, one he had not thought about for a few years. "Like, I remember once I had a role in the school play. I was the sun in a play about the Solar System. Honestly, it was a dumb role. I had to say like maybe three lines and sing a song with all the planets. But at the time... I was so excited for it, dude. I practiced for weeks. Both my folks were busy back then, they always were, but they promised they'd come to see me perform. Only the day of the play, I looked out into the crowded audience and realized neither of them showed. Dad had work and mom an 'important event'. I think that's when I gave up on trying to please either of them."

The boys were silent for a moment, but finally Ryu spoke. "Ken... I am sorry to hear that."

"Nah dude, it's fine." Ken grinned, his smile almost meeting his eyes. "I had a good life. I mean, I was rich. Super rich. And whatever I wanted my parents would give me without question." _Except attention, anyway._

"Still, it must have been difficult."

"I guess. But yeah, around ten or so I got fed up and started acting out. I dyed my hair, started getting into trouble, grew arrogant and selfish. Man, I really made my parents freak. I'd pull pranks and rack up huge debts on my credit cards. I think part of it was a desire to sort of sabotage their perfect lives. Every time I made them have to clean up one of my messes... at least I saw them, you know?"

Ryu nodded silently.

"Anyway, you know the rest. I pushed them too far and got sent here."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, bro. It sucked at first, no denying. But, you know, I'm kinda glad I ended up here."

Ryu looked surprised to hear this. "Really? I thought you hated it here."

"Meh. Over time I've adjusted. And, if nothing else, I've learned some sweet moves. And I could have had worse sparring partners. I guess." he stuck his tongue out at his friend, but Ryu seemed to know there was no heat behind the words.

"I'm so glad I meet your standards, Ken-San," he teased in turn, and Ken smirked. The dude was getting better at giving it back to him. "But on the subject of your childhood, what is America like?"

Ken laughed. "Um, dude, that's kinda a hard question to answer. It's a pretty big place. That's like me asking you what Japan's like. Think you could tell me?"

"I take your point."

"As for where I lived, Cali was nice. I grew up in the city, you know, so there was always stuff to do. And it was, like, always busy. It was a hectic lifestyle. Here is definitely more subdued. That's not a bad thing, necessary. I can sort of see the appeal in both. But at heart, I'm a city boy.

"That's the biggest thing I miss about home," Ken admitted. "There was always something to do. I'd hang with my friends and go out nearly every night. Someone was always throwing a party, and some of them were pretty sick. As soon as I get home I'm gonna have to make up for lost time."

Ryu frowned then, and Ken knew why. The poor dude was probably sad he never went to a party.

"Oh man, I'll totally have to take you out when you come visit. There's like, so much to do. I'd love to see your reaction to riding a roller coaster or something, or dancing in a packed club." He smirked, and Ryu's expression grew less despondent.

"You actually want me to come visit you?"

"Course man! Yeah, I know we had our differences at first. But dude, I'd be lying if I said you haven't grown into one of my best friends. I know, that's crazy, given, well, what a stick in the mud you are." he winked. "But yeah, you're actually pretty cool. Interesting, in your own way. You're nothing like my friends back home."

"I would like that, Ken," Ryu admitted. "But my place is here."

"Pfff." The blonde waved a hand dismissively. "C'mon dude, you're planning to spend your whole life here? Eventually you're going to learn everything Master has to teach."

Judging by Ryu's troubled expression, he had never considered this.

"Besides man, what's the point of learning all this if you never test it out? There's a ton of fighters out there in the world. Sooner or later you're gonna have to test your mettle against them."

"I know," Ryu said. "You... you're right, Ken. But even still, there's a difference between continuing my training and a social visit."

"Jeez Ryu. You can't always be on, man!"

"I'm a warrior. I live for the fight and testing my skills. Everything else is a distraction."

Ken rolled his eyes. "I admire your dedication. Really,dude. But there's more to life than that. Even Master Gouken saw that. Don't you think him raising you for a few years set back his own training?" Seeing his friend grow horrified, he pressed on. "But he did. Because he realized one could be a warrior and human as well. He really cares for you, bro. I don't think he'd have traded his time with you for anything. Even if that means he had to cut back on his training a bit."

Ryu grew thoughtful. After a moment, the older teen nodded in appreciation. "You may have a point. Thank you, Ken."

"No problem."

"I suppose a week or so away from the dojo would not detract from my training to too great an extent. And I could always still train in the morning, and before bed at night."

Ken snorted and shook his head. Ryu was hopeless. But he was still proud of his friend for making some small degree of progress.

"Right. Besides, Cali's a big state. You could come visit when a tournament of some sort was being held. Test yourself against the locals. Not to mention I'd be there to keep you on your toes."

"That's true. Then I will visit you sometime. If Master Gouken thinks me ready for it, of course."

" !" Ken fist pumped. He was kinda glad he'd still see Ryu after the summer was over. Maybe he'd visit on occasion to see Gouken as well. He couldn't believe it, but he actually thought he would kinda miss the old man.

And who knows? Maybe he'd even sign up for the same tournament Ryu participated in when he came to America. He was kind of interested in testing his skills against other fighters. Not to mention Ryu.

###

 _One week later_

Ryu struck out at him again and again, but Ken was in the zone. Kick after kick, punch after punch, the young fighter blocked them all with ease. And he could tell not giving his friend an opening was beginning to wear on Ryu, as he was now moving a millisecond slower. To anyone else the Japanese youth would still be a blur of frantic movements, but Ken knew him well enough to know that he was beginning to tire.

Stepping back, Ryu let loose with a mighty roundhouse kick. Ken managed to lean into the strike and block it with his shoulder, but just barely. In response the American countered with series of punches that Ryu largely ducked and blocked, and internally, he cursed. Ken knew that he was beginning to fade as well, and he suspected that for all of his improvements, Ryu could still outlast him.

 _Not this time, buddy._

With a roar Ryu lept forward, his fist aiming down in an attempt to bypass his rival's defenses. Ken was unable to block it in time, and he took the hit. It was painful, but nothing too serious, though Ryu did not know that. The blonde staggered back.

Sending vulnerability, Ryu followed up with a hit to his stomach. Ken could have blocked it, but allowed the blow to _just_ slip past him. As anyone who had been hit in the stomach could attest to, it hurt like a Mack truck, and he knew the pain showed in his stance and on his face.

Good. He was counting on that.

The darker haired teen followed up with a series of four punches, his fists going to town on the blonde's defenseless form. Ken did not even try to block these blows. Instead he focused on taking them, and paid attention.

Ah, there it was. His grimace of pain turned into a smile, and Ryu's eyes widened. He knew.

Ryu had been focused on beating him, so Ken had let him, if only to break the impasse he would have likely eventually lost anyway. But his friend still had one noticeable flaw when they sparred; he underestimated him. Ryu had thought Ken had given up blocking because he was too weak and on the ropes from the assault he had just suffered, but the opposite was true. The blonde had allowed himself to be hit enough to sell his weakness to Ryu, and it had had the desired effect. The Japanese fighter had invested a lot of his stamina into his strikes, and now he had left himself open for a reprisal. It was a minor weakness, not enough of one for even an average fighter to exploit.

But somewhere along the line, Ken had become more than just an average one.

Unleashing a kick of his own, Ken lashed out at Ryu and struck him straight in the chest. Ryu let out the slightest grunt of pain, but it was all Ken needed to spur him forward. He punched out once, twice, both blows connecting solidly with his friend's stomach. Then he followed the move up with an uppercut that impacted satisfyingly with his rival's jaw and left him staggering. But not for long. Already Ryu was adjusting to the assault, and Ken knew that he needed to take advantage of the opportunity and finish this quick.

So he followed things up with another kick aimed upwards at his friend's head. Foot met face and Ryu swayed for a second, clearly seeing stars. Then he fell backwards, hitting the ground hard. For a moment Ken was actually a bit concerned that he had knocked his buddy out. But a groan from Ryu attested to his consciousness.

Excitement shoot through Ken. He had taken Ryu's advice to heart during the fight and kept his emotions under control, but now there was no containing it. He had won! After what had seemed like hundreds of fights, he had finally beaten Ryu! It felt great, and though he tried to avoid rubbing it in his rival's face too much, he figured that now was a time for celebration.

"Aw yeah! I am the man! Ken-motherfucking-Masters, baby!" The American ran a hand through his hair and gave Gouken a thumps up. It was kind of dumb, but he'd be lying if he said the movement didn't make him feel like a total badass. Sure, Ryu had moves, but he had swagger that no amount of training could provide.

Gouken did not return his gesture, but his face did show some degree of respect for Ken that he was pretty sure was not there before.

"Well done. Ryu may have lost that fight rather than you winning it, but it was a good effort. You are progressing nicely, all things considered."

Ken grinned and bowed his head in gratitude. Then the blonde turned his attention to Ryu. Oddly enough, the dude was still on the ground. Ken moved over to him and offered his hand.

"Feels good to be on this side of things for once, dude!"

But Ryu did not take his hand. The teen got up on his own power, and hardly even looked at his sparring partner. It kind of confused Ken. He wasn't expecting the dude to lift him in the air and cheer for him, but Ryu had been a pretty good source for encouragement up to now. This was a big victory for him, and he was a little(more than a little, honestly) put off that the guy wasn't even giving him a "nice job."

Still, he put it off as Gouken began to address both of them, and the rest of his morning was taken up by the usual exercises. Ken's good mood quickly returned.

He felt like a real fighter. And maybe now, he even was.

###

But whatever weirdness that had struck Ryu persisted for the rest of the day. Usually Ken could count on the other guy giving him additional feedback during their training, or talking to him during their mind numbing chores. But today Ryu did not so much as glance at him, and the few times Ken tried to start a conversation he got one word answers and half hearted nods in response. It reminded him of his first few weeks here, when the conversation between them had been minimal at best. But his friend had gotten better at actually holding a conversation, so it was weird to see them back to square one.

Of course, with Gouken around Ken couldn't exactly pursue this further, and he still wasn't sure he wanted to. But their Master apparently felt charitable today, because after their afternoon chores he gave his students an hour off. Usually, they'd take advantage of these rare breaks head to the river to cool off, so Ken suggested as much today. In response though, Ryu barely nodded. "That's fine."

 _Ugh. What's with him, anyway?_

Ken's annoyance grew as they headed to the river, but he still made an effort to talk. He tried humor, then boasting, then finally made an observation about the weather. But none of the topics elicited much of a reaction from Ryu. By the time they arrived at their destination, Ken was really pissed, and he decided to make this clear.

"Dude, what the fuck's your problem?"

For the first since that morning Ryu looked at him, apparent confusion all over his face. "I don't know what you mean." But for all his other talents he was a terrible liar, and Ken scoffed.

"Don't give me that! You've been acting like a dick all day."

"Maybe I learned it from you." Ryu's tone was harsh, and Ken felt a little surprised by the coldness of it.

"I'm sorry, Ken," Ryu sighed, seeming to realize he had gone too far, " that was rude of me."

"If you're going to be that way you can fuck off." Ken felt his anger rising. He really wanted to punch Ryu right now, and for once not because they were sparring partners. "I don't get what's with you. You've been acting like an ass since..."

Oh.

Realitization hit him, along with fresh anger and a tiny bit of hurt.

"Huh. So that's how it is, huh?"

"What?" Ryu looked confused again, but this time it was genuine. The blonde rolled his eyes in frustration.

"I'm not an idiot, bro. All this time you've been like a fucking cheerleader giving me pep talks and stuff. 'Oh Ken, I know one day you'll defeat me', 'you were most impressive today, Ken.' I thought you actually were being a bro and happy to see me improving in my fighting abilities. But the day I finally do beat you you can't even give me a 'well done?' Is your fucking ego so fragile you can't handle the fact that I'm suddenly as good as you at martial arts?"

"Ken, that's..."

"It's Gouken, right? You see him as a father figure. Now that you're not clearly better than me you're afraid he's, what, going to value you less or something? That I'll be the favorite?"

"No. That's not it at all. I'm not threatened by you, Ken."

"Then why are you acting like such an ass?"

Ryu sighed. "You would not understand."

"Then talk to me, man!" Ken insisted, his curiosity beating out his anger for the moment.

Sighing, Ryu moved to the edge of the riverbank and sat down. Ken soon joined him, and the pair splashed their feet in the cool water as Ryu began to speak.

"The thing you must understand is before you, I never really had a friend my own age. Do not mistake me, I had a happy childhood, as I've said. Master Gouken raised me like his own child, and I and the prospective students that came here from time to time all got along well. Some of them I quite liked. But even as students they were all older people, and I was a child. And you know what the townsfolk think of us. Aside from an insult now and then, none of the local youth ever interacted with me. I never had an equal relationship with anyone.

"And then you arrived here. And I think for the first time I really felt what it was like to have a friend."

Ken wasn't sure what to say, but Ryu continued. "I don't expect you to understand. You told me you have lots of friends back in America."

"Yeah man. I never had a problem making them. But I think I kinda get what you're trying to say." Seeing his friend turn to look at him, he continued. "The friends I have back home are fun, don't get me wrong. But our relationship is kinda shallow. Like, it's based on things and activities. I don't really know much about them when it comes down to it, and I know the same is true for them with me. You're one of the first people I got to really know, when it came down to it." He felt embarrassed admitting the next part, but pushed forward. "Hell, you may be the best friend I've ever had. The only one interested in knowing me for me, and not for what I could get you."

Ryu looked deeply touched and Ken looked away. "Jeez, man. Look at the cheesy shit you're making me spout. But point is, yeah, we're bros."

"I thank you for the compliment. But then, you understand why it's so difficult for me to be happy for you."

"Um, no. Actually I _still_ don't."

"You mentioned that you were not going to leave here until you could defeat me. And now you have finally done so. There's nothing keeping you here." Ryu explained, smiling sadly.

The blonde blinked. "Whoa, whoa whoa. Dude, that's your issue?"

"My only friend will be returning home soon. I'm sorry I can't be happier for you Ken, but that's why. I love Master Gouken, but things won't be the same after you leave. I'll no longer have a sparring partner. Or a friend."

"Uh, okay. But like I said, you can come visit anytime..."

"It won't be the same." Ryu countered. "I won't be able to spar with you daily, or have late night conversations, or even watch you get yourself into trouble."

"H...Hey, that doesn't happen so much anymore." Ken protested, before getting to the heart of the older teen's point. "Besides dude, like I said you're not going to live here forever, right? Sooner or later you're gonna want to test your skills and head out into the world."

"Yes," Ryu said, not understanding. Ken elaborated. "So, you're going to meet a ton of skilled fighters from all walks of life. I think you'll learn a lot from these relationships. Not to mention all _you'll_ teach them.

"You seem convinced that to be a warrior one has to be a solitary hermit or something. But man, I don't think that's true. I've learned a lot from both you and Master Gouken. The relationships I've made here are almost as important as the training. Think of all the fighters out there in this whole wide world, man. It's like Master says; everyone of them can teach you something about yourself."

"Perhaps." Ryu appeared contemplative.

"Besides bro, I'm not going anywhere just yet. My folks sent me here for the whole summer, and even if I could convince them otherwise, I really want to see this out. Prove to myself I can. And as for what I said, I believe I told you that I wasn't leaving here until I could beat you with one arm tied behind my back, yeah? As good as I am, I don't think I'm anywhere near that level yet."

The first genuine smile since that morning appeared on his friend's face. "No. Not quite."

"So, see dude? I've still got a long way to go. You're in for a few ass kicking's before I leave, trust me." He grinned. "Besides, even when I do... I'll probably come back for a visit or now and then."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My parent's come to Japan every year or so to see my grandparents. They live on the other side of the country, but I'll just, I dunno, stay a few extra days or something. Pop in to see you and Gouken, make sure you're not slacking off without me to inspire you." He reached over and ruffled Ryu's hair, though the other boy quickly knocked him away.

"I do appreciate it. And I'll give some thought to what you said."

"You should. I'm a smart dude." They both laughed before Ken continued. "But honestly Ryu, I meant what I said. We'll keep in touch."

His friend just nodded, but Ken knew he appreciated it.

"Anyway!" Ken rose to his feet and stretched. "Enough with this _feelings_ crap. I've got an idea that will make you feel better."

Ryu raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

In response, Ken adopted a fighting stance and gestured for Ryu. "To quote a great philosopher: 'come at me, brah.' "

"You want to spar now?" Ryu said, but he was already rising to his feet. Yeah, Ken knew him well enough.

"'Course I do! C'mon, get out all your frustrations. It will prove, like, therapeutic. Just be warned, I'm not gonna make it easy for ya, dude."

Ryu matched his stance in turn. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

###

Nearly an hour later found the boys bloody and bruised, and holding onto each other for support as they both limped back to the dojo. It had been an evenly matched fight, and neither had wanted to admit defeat. This led to both of them eventually just collapsing in exhaustion. Just this once, they agreed to call it a draw.

"You know Ken, you are pretty smart."

"Told ya, dude. But what confirmed it?"

"Fighting actually worked. I feel much more at ease now."

Ken laughed, then remembered how much it hurt. He wouldn't be doing that for awhile. "I used to wonder how the hell you didn't let anything get to you, man. Then it hit me. You spend the whole day hitting things. It's the perfect stress reliever."

"Well, talking things out helped as well." Ryu admitted. "But yes, it was mostly the punching."

Gouken said nothing as his pupils returned for dinner. But Ken got the feeling that he was quietly pleased.

###

 **A/N:** So remember how I said it might be a bit before my next chapter? Oops.

Another chapter done, this one more focused on Ryu. When I first was drafting this story it was more focused on Ken, but I realized that to do a story dealing with Ken I'd really need to dwell into Ryu's mind as well. In my personal canon he's a pretty sheltered kid, and Ken is probably the first person around his age he's ever talked to and befriended. So now that he thinks Ken is going to leave soon he's kinda depressed. But it's nothing a good spar can't fix, right? Anyway, I hope I've done his character justice.

As for Ken, in this chapter I wanted to give readers a glimpse into why he was so rotten to begin with. Until these last few chapters I hadn't really considered giving him an excuse for his behavior, but the more I wrote him the more it made sense to me. In his own way he was as lonely as Ryu, which explains why they eventually get along so well.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Ultimolu:** That he is. Just because Ken's a bit less of a jerk doesn't mean he's given up his mischievous side. IIRC one of Ryu's canon dislikes is spiders, because one once crawled into his mouth. I couldn't resist incorporating that into this piece, and I figured there was no way Ken would pass up an opportunity to freak his usually stoic buddy out.

Sorry about the typos. I uploaded the last chapter at 3 am, so maybe this will teach me to look my work over with slightly less tired eyes. Hopefully this chapter has fewer.

 **InfamousCookie10:** Hey there, always nice to have a new reader chime in. Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you like Ken in this; honestly he really quickly took on a life of his own, and he's easier to write than I was expecting. I'm happy his development works for you. He's supposed to be annoying at first, but somewhere over the line I hope my readers warm up to him.

 **Vammy** : Yeah, as this chapter hopefully demonstrates, they're definitely at a point now where Ryu's learning just as much from Ken as Ken is from him. Like you're said earlier, the canon brotherhood between these two has really been enjoyable to see flesh out. Even as the author I was not expecting all the twist and turns, but they've all felt right to me. Hopefully they all feel organic to you as well.

I think we're nearing the end of the story, but there should still be at least a few chapters left. Ken's gonna face some tough challenges before this is over, and his response to them will finish transforming him into the fighter we know in the games. I hope you'll all come along for the ride. As always, I enjoy hearing your thoughts, so reviews are welcome.

Until next time,

DA


	10. Good News,Bad News

The weeks flew by. And much to his satisfaction, Ken continued to improve.

Beating Ryu was no longer a rare occurrence; the blonde estimated he probably still lost slightly more of their bouts than he won, but it was too close for either of them to really gain a decisive advantage over the other. Some days he'd win every match; on others, Ryu would kick his ass consistently. The important thing was that victory or defeat, Ken learned something from every fight, and he knew that Ryu did too. Tactics that would win him a spar one day would prove his undoing the next, and Ken found himself having to adapt every time he fought his friend. It was a challenge, but of the enjoyable sort.

In truth, Ken knew he'd probably never be so far ahead of Ryu that he'd be able to beat him every time they fought, but oddly enough he found some comfort in this. His rival being a worthy opponent would only inspire him to keep pushing himself and develop further as a fighter, at least until he returned home. And even then, Ken wasn't so sure he could slack off knowing Ryu was still progressing forward.

Gouken had noticed his students rapid progression as well, and one day he mentioned that soon he would begin sparring with them personally, holding nothing back. It was an exciting development for Ryu and Ken, the surest sign so far that the young fighters had impressed him. But they also both knew that neither of them could hold a candle to their master in hand to hand combat. So the pair pushed themselves even further. Whenever they finished a spar they'd ruthlessly critique each other's performance( as well as their own) intent on finding any flaws or weaknesses they possessed and eradicating them. This had some success, and both were able to correct many of his remaining deficiencies.

And when the day finally came that Gouken tested them, they were as ready as could be, having trained extensively in preparation for it. It didn't stop him from demolishing them both in short order, but Ken at least felt pretty confident. It had taken him over a month to even come close to Ryu in skill. It didn't surprise him that his Master would still take a lot more training to beat. Hell, half the moves he had busted out Ken had never even _seen_ before. Until he learned all of them, the blonde doubted he stood a chance.

Ryu seemed a bit more troubled by how quickly he had been defeated, and Ken knew he was unhappy. So that night, he brought it up to him.

"I have just been training for so long, trying to become a martial artist worthy of Master Gouken. To lose so quickly to him... it makes me fear I have disappointed him."

"Eh, I doubt it." Ken replied. "Honestly he sort of seemed to expect it. Besides, If he was really pissed at our display he'd have accused us of slacking off and punished us."

"True," Ryu responded, but Ken could tell he wasn't fully convinced.

"Dude, remember how much I sucked for my first few days here?"

"Days? Do you mean week..."

" _Days_ ," he insisted. "Anyway, it took a hell of a lot of fights with you before I figured things out. My point is, you can't expect to beat Master the first time you really spar with him! It's gonna take a ton of practice. My advice is to do what he said; learn from each bout and apply those lessons going forward."

This seemed to cheer his friend. Ryu straightened up,his posture already becoming more confident. Ken was glad to see his quiet confidence returning. It was kinda amazing a fighter as good as freaking Ryu could ever doubt his own skills, but there it was.

"You are correct. Thank you for reminding me that victory or defeat are not the only indications of our progress. What lessons did you take from Master Gouken today?"

"He has a really mean left hook. Not as bad as his right one, though."

They shared a laugh at that, and things returned to normal.

Of course, the pair did more than fighting, thanks in large part to Ken's efforts. While he loved testing himself against his buddy, there were times when they'd both hang out and unwind. Ken always made it his personal mission to see Ryu relax during these times, and his efforts had mixed success. This was also the time they'd indulge in pulling pranks. Well, Ken was the one who indulged in them, really; Ryu was largely the victim. Though he had grown to like the other guy, the American could not deny that messing with Ryu was one of the best parts of this whole experience. And though the noogies and pantsings he handed out earned Ken more than one beatdown, he got the distinct impression that Ryu was learning to tolerate his sense of mischief. As long as it did not involve spiders, anyway.

In addition to the fun( for one of them), Ken also began to teach Ryu English, at the other boy's request. Unbeknownst to Ryu they started with the swear words, and the blonde convinced his pal that 'fucker' was a term of the highest respect in English. His treachery was revealed when Ryu used it on Gouken in a misguided attempt to impress the man, and Ken found himself having to avoid sitting down for a couple of nights.

After this incident, Ken began to teach his friend for real for real, and reasonably soon Ryu had a basic grasp of the language. Ken still wasn't exactly sure why Ryu wanted to learn it, but the other boy seemed interested in learning it for knowledge's sake, though he also confessed he wanted to try and communicate with Ken in his native tongue from time to time.

The teens also engaged in conversations, some of which lasted long into the night. Their talks covered the gauntlet, from serious topics to observations on daily occurrences. Ryu was actually a much deeper guy than Ken had once given him credit for, and the Japanese youth could pontificate on philosophy and spirituality with the best scholars out there. Ken was quietly impressed, even if their conversations sometimes made his head hurt more than the punches did.

"Dude, how do you know so much, anyway?" he asked one night, after a particularly deep talk.

"Master Gouken taught me philosophy from an early age, even before he began my training. Well, I should not say that; he viewed both as critical elements along the same path."

"Huh?" was his partner's intelligent response.

Ryu smiled indulgently, but continued. "I believe that we are all part of a broader whole,so to speak. What we learn here, the fight itself... it is about more than a physical path. It is deeper than that. By becoming the best fighter I can be, I am also learning more about my place in this universe."

"Un huh," Ken responded, still a little skeptical. "No offense dude, but I don't get it. I fight because I enjoy it, not because I want to become, like, a saint, or Buddha, or whoever."

The older teen nodded, not seeming to have expected a different answer. "And that is fine. But I maintain there is more to it than that. Take our meditation...you still find it difficult to access your _Ki_?"

"Yeah," Ken admitted, hating to do so. "Like, I try, and I feel like I've felt a warmth in me a few times, but I don't know if that's me hoping I'm feeling it or an actual manifestation."

"Keep at it. I know it's difficult, but once you access it, I think you will understand our arts on a deeper level."

"Alright, man. But to be honest with you, I kinda don't see the point."

"Well, Master Gouken does. He's mentioned to me once and twice that at the very top levels of our art comes the ability to utilize one's _Ki_ in combat. It is very difficult to reach this point, but those who do truly become something other than human, at least in their fighting abilities."

"So what? Like...magic?" Ken asked. "That seems kind of hard to believe. Are you sure he wasn't messing with you?"

"Have you ever known Master Gouken to joke?"

The American was forced to admit he had not. "But, okay then. Why didn't you learn it already? You're in touch with your _Ki_ or whatever, right?"

"Yes, but I still have a long way to go. And Master told me the path to achieving it is now without risk. He thinks I am too young to truly learn it."

"Mysterious as usual. Still... I'll give it a try, man."

Ryu nodded encouragingly. "We could try to meditate right now, and I could guide you through what works for me."

"Or we could just sit here. Or spar." Ken asked, hopefully.

His friend's expression did not change.

"Ugh, fine. I'll give it a shot, I guess." The blonde gave in, sighing in defeat.

And it may have just been Ken's imagination, but when he next looked over at Ryu his friend looked to be a tiny bit smug.

So began Ryu's training of Ken. Progress was slow, often frustratingly so. Never the most patient person, Ken would often find himself zoning out, or getting distracted by the itchiness he always seemed to get while trying to remain perfectly serene. Frustrated, he'd often try to convince Ryu to do something, _anything_ else, but the older teen held firm, and forced him to work through it.

And eventually (after quite a few attempts) Ken found that he was beginning to be able to channel his _Ki_ on command. The blonde still had no idea if this was a real energy coursing through him or just his mind willing him to feel something, but he was forced to admit it was interesting all the same.

But there was one thing he still didn't understand.

"My _Ki_ , or whatever it is, feels different from how you describe it." He informed Ryu one day. Seeing a curious look on his friend's face, he continued to explain.

"So, like, you say yours is this calming energy that flows through you like a gentle breeze. The way you've described it, it's almost soothing. But mine... I dunno man, it's way more intense than that. It's like a burning feeling, but for some reason it's not really uncomfortable. And instead of soothing me, it kinda pumps me up."

"Interesting. Though it's nothing to be alarmed by. From what I've read and Master Gouken has told me, everyone's _Ki_ manifests differently."

"But _why_ is it different from yours? We're doing the same exercises and everything."

"It is difficult to say. Perhaps the way we will it to manifest is the result of the difference. I've never felt the sort of feeling you're describing, but that does not mean the way you've been doing it is wrong. Just the fact that you're able to feel it more now is a positive sign. It may even be manifesting in such a manner due to our different 'styles' and personalities, as it were."

"Huh." Ken considered. "Interesting. Though, dude, you have to admit that my way of channeling is way cooler."

Ryu was silent for a moment, appearing lost in thought.

"Actually, given the burning intensity you are describing, I'd say it's actually a good deal warmer."

It took Ken a few seconds to get it. But when he realized his friend was attempting to make a joke, he was torn between laughing at it (in appreciation for the rare event) or punching Ryu for the lameness of it.

He compromised, and did both.

###

"Nice one today, dude."

The day's sparring had been intense, even more so than usual. Ken had started out strong, their first few matches going to him. But Ryu had fought his way back up, and by the end of their day's training he had emerged as the victor in slightly more of their bouts than Ken. Nonetheless, it hadn't been easy for either of them. But then it rarely was anymore, and both teens made their way back home, exhausted but satisfied. It had been a good day.

"Indeed. I thought you had me in that last match."

"So did I. Never expected you to pull out that new jump combo. Threw me completely off my game."

"It's a new move I have been practicing. Actually, you inspired it."

"How?"

"It's like you said. What was it? Something like, ' _Dude, you can't just copy Master Gouken's teachings. You need to blaze your own path forward in the arts_.' So, I did."

"I'm regretting saying anything." Ken said, before he grinned, feeling very much like a proud father. "Seriously though, nice work. That move cost me our last bout, but at least I know I inspired it. Yeah, you should listen to Master Ken more often."

"Every now and again you do come up with something worth listening to." Ryu conceded.

"Yeah! Hey, wait a sec... why do I feel like that's kinda an insult in the form of a compliment?"

"I have no idea what you mean." Ryu responded, in a tone that very much indicated that he did.

###

By the time they reached the dojo, both fighters were famished. Rice was the main course tonight, but Ken had long dropped most of his objections to it. It was still bland, and there were times he would have killed for a burger and fries, but after a long day of pushing himself to the limit and beyond, just about anything would have tasted heavenly.

He was midway through his forth bowl when Gouken spoke to him. "I received a letter today from your parents."

Preparing to take another bite, Ken froze, his mouth wide open. "Wha?"

"They will be arriving on Monday to take you back home. Your training will soon be at an end."

"Monday? But today...today's Friday."

Gouken's eyes narrowed, the older man apparently taking the comment in a way Ken did not intend. "Yes, you shall have to put up with living here for a few more days. You've survived so far, I suspect this brief delay won't kill you."

"It's not that," said Ken, shaking his head. "It's just, kinda not a lot of advanced notice. I thought I'd have more."

"Your parents sent you here for the summer. It is now at an end."

 _Not like I had a calendar_ , Ken wanted to say, but didn't.

"Regardless, you've proven to be an adequate student. I was correct to take you in. I am confident that the deficiencies that led you here have now been corrected."

"Yeah." Ken said. He wasn't really feeling hungry anymore. Quickly, he disposed of his food, steadfastly ignoring Ryu's gaze.

But no sooner did he leave the room then Ryu came out after him.

"Ken..."

"Yeah, Ryu? I need to be alone for a few. I'll uh, catch you later."

And without another word Ken left the dojo, unsure exactly where he was going.

###

His feet led him to the river. The blonde supposed he should not have been surprised; this was the place Ryu and him generally came to relax. He sat down on the ground, observing the water and listening to the sounds of nature. They had once been so foreign to him, but now he could pick out every individual sound and identify its source.

He felt... well he wasn't sure how he felt honestly, and that surprised him.

There would have been a time he would have exploded in joy at hearing that he was getting out of here. Those first few weeks he had been counting the days, hell, counting the hours. But somewhere along the line he had stopped counting, and he found himself surprised the summer could be over already.

It shouldn't have been such a shock. After all, he knew this day had been coming. But over time he had gotten so caught up in learning from Gouken and sparring with Ryu that thoughts of his eventual departure had grown more and more rare. It was especially frustrating to leave now, when he was finally starting to master his _Ki_ , and all the avenues that that opened up.

But he should be happy, right? As surprisingly enjoyable as this whole thing had eventually turned out to be, it wasn't the life he was meant to lead. He was a billionaire, not a warrior. Playing at one for a few months had been fun, but that was all. He belonged back in America, in California. In his normal life, in his huge mansion with his ton of servants. With his normal friends who were like him. At the endless weekend parties with the free flowing booze and the eager girls ready to please. In the exclusive clubs at 3 in the morning dancing the remainder of the night away and moshing to the hottest bands. Yeah, that was where he belonged.

So why was he having such a hard time convincing himself of that?

"I thought I would find you here."

Ken did not have to look back to know it was Ryu. "I told you I wanted to be left alone."

"Do you want me to go?"

The blonde was silent for a moment. "No. I guess you can stay."

Ryu soon approached and joined him on the ground. "I knew you leaving was coming up, but I never knew the exact date. I did not think it was going to be this early, however."

"Yeah. Me either."

His friend considered him. "You seem thoughtful."

Ken wanted to retort like he normally would, something like, _Oh, are you saying I'm not usually thoughtful, man_? But he found he did not have the energy for it.

"Yeah. Just... thinking and stuff."

"Would you like to share your thoughts?"

"I mean," Ken began, shrugging helplessly. "I don't know. It's a lot to take in. I've spent the last few months here, so it's taking me a bit to readjust."

"I see. I do admit, I thought you would be happier."

"Me too. Like I said dude, I did enjoy this and all, but...you know. I never thought I'd grow attached to it or anything. Turns out, to some degree I kinda have."

"Well, I'm glad you'll have some good memories from your time here to look back on."

"Yeah man. Like the first time I kicked your ass."

Both boys chuckled, but it seemed to Ken somewhat forced by both on them.

"But yeah. It's time for me to go. This isn't my home or anything. I have a life waiting for me back in The States. Plus, school. Heh, after everything that was thrown at me here, _that_ should be a cinch."

"You discovered a reservoir of strength during your time here. I don't think any of it will prove a challenge to you, Ken."

"'Course not. After all, I'm Ken Masters."

Ryu offered a weak smile before both teens fell silent. They watched the river for awhile before the Japanese youth spoke.

"You know Ken, I've learned a lot from you this summer."

"Heh. Like what?"

"How to loosen up, as you might say. Before I met you training was everything to me. And it still is. But you taught me that there's not one way to be a good fighter. You've shown me that inspiration and creativity can lead one to greatness in the same way as strict and rigid studying can. It hadn't been something I would have ever considered had I not seen you evolve with it. In the short time you have been here I have watched you go from a newcomer to our arts to my equal. And I think much of that rapid growth was due to how you eventually approached our training."

"Thanks dude. I just found a way to make it work for me, you know?"

"And perhaps almost as importantly, you showed me what it was like to have a sparring partner. And a friend. I'm not sure which of the roles I found more valuable."

"Both of them were pretty nice. I'm glad you turned out way more interesting than I first gave you credit for."

"And I am glad you turned out to be less of a ... well, how do you say it? A _dickburger_?" Ryu retorted, the last word in English. It made Ken laugh.

"I guess it's true, what they say... first impressions ain't everything." Despite it all, Ken was feeling a little better. Leaving Japan would be bittersweet. But he knew he had made a friend for life.

He got to his feet. "So, anyway! Don't think I'm gonna be slacking off now, dude. You want to try that jump combo on me again?"

"As a matter of fact, I would." Ryu joined him in turn.

"Heh." Ken got into his stance, but then just as quickly he dropped it as a thought occurred to him. Ryu looked confused, but warily kept to his. The blonde had to grin at that.

 _Won't let me pull a fast one on you, huh buddy?_

But Ken was not planning an ambush. Instead, he held out his fist. Ryu looked at it, uncomprehending.

"Fist bump, bro. Sign of respect."

"I see." After a slight moment of indecision, Ryu returned it. Then he looked at Ken. The teens had a brief moment of silent conversation. And then with a grin from Ken and a nod from Ryu, the fight began.

###

 **A/N:** These chapters are really coming faster than I expected, but I'm inspired now, and been hit with a strong dose of inspiration. Watch the last chapter take me like six months, lol.

So Ken's training is drawing to an end, and he's feeling conflicted. He definitely has some things to think about. Hope you guys also enjoyed the first hints of Hadokens and the like. This fic covers a relatively brief time period, so you won't see the guys busting them out in this, but I wanted to lay the groundwork all the same.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Ultimolu** : Perfect is a strong compliment, but I do appreciate it. I'm glad you can see the bond between them growing. Pretty funny when at one time they couldn't even stand one another. Building that brotherhood has been one of my favorite parts of this, so I'm happy it's working for you.

 **Vammy:** Thanks. I was a bit nervous about these last few chapters and the emotional shift they've taken. This was first and foremost meant to be fairly lighthearted, so hopefully I've threaded that needle and not swung too far to either side. Glad you're enjoying the heavier stuff though. As for a sequel, this was really meant to stand alone, since it's not a time in the canon that much fic is written about, and I feel like other periods have been covered better. But I've really enjoyed writing for Ken, and there may come a time in the future where I cover other parts of his history, such as his participation in the U.S. Martial Arts tournament. So if I can think of a good tale to tell I may be writing more in the future.

 **InfamouseCookie10:** Thanks. Glad that's been working for you. In my opinion they have a friendship that's really interesting to explore, so it's been really entertaining trying to figure the start of it out. I'm really happy with the ending I have planned, hope you guys will be too.

I hope to have the next chapter up soon, provided my muse cooperates. As always thanks for reading and feel free to comment. They're part of why I think I'm staying inspired and working on this so fast.

Until Next Time,

DA


	11. Bloodless Brothers

Like sand in an hourglass, time continued to slip away.

Ken became painfully aware of the approaching deadline, and the blonde decided not to waste a second of what little time he had left. He threw himself fully into every spar, every exercise, every meditation session like it was his last. Because it very well soon would be.

He hadn't left yet and was already feeling nostalgic. When he knocked down Ryu after a hard fought match he briefly wondered if this was the last time he'd beat his friend. (When the next bout produced the opposite result, Ken wondered if this was the last time Ryu would beat _him_. He was a natural optimist.) Part of him wished he could slow down time.

Gouken said little about his pupil's impending departure, except to once or twice sternly inform the teen that he had better not use this as an excuse to slack off. If anything, Ken did the opposite. He felt himself making great strides in those last few days, only adding to his sense of frustration. Part of him was sure that if he had an extra week he could take on the old man himself, and really go toe to toe with him.

Much to Ken's surprise, Ryu seemed to be taking his friend's departure reasonably well. After the previous emotional outpouring from him, he had expected moodiness and depression from the Japanese fighter. Instead, Ryu seemed almost unaffected. The only clue Ken had was that something was up was that he's occasionally catch his friend frowning, and coming from the older teen, such an obvious display of discontent was rare. But other than that, he continued to spar and train with Ken like usual. And, truthfully, the blonde was grateful for it. He was already feeling pretty conflicted; if Ryu had been more obviously upset he'd probably have felt pretty awful.

But time is known to only flow in one direction, and so too did it for Ken. Sunday quickly came and went, and as the boys retired to their room, Ken found he could not sleep. This was an odd feeling. Even in his first days here he had been so tired that he had drifted off to sleep within minutes.

Odder still was that Ryu seemed to be tossing and turning as well. The dude was usually a restful sleeper; he had even cut down on the snoring since the spider prank. It was unusual that they were both still awake, but also really obvious as to why. Much as they tried to hide it, tomorrow was affecting them both.

Ken considered saying something, but decided against it. What could he say, anyway? Somehow he doubted words would make his best friend feel all that much better. Or himself, for that matter. The young fighter told himself this wasn't the end. He'd see Ryu again, Master Gouken as well. But it wouldn't be the same. Fuck, his sparring partner had grown almost as much as he had these last few months, and Ken felt pretty confident at least part of that was due to his influence. Free of whatever stumbling blocks had held him back, Ryu was well on his way to becoming a true fighter. And the blonde doubted once he left that he'd be able to keep up with him. When Ryu came to visit, or Ken came back here, would they even be able to have a decent match? Or would his friend have surpassed him by then so utterly that he'd only serve as a distraction for him?

The thought sucked. Ken didn't _want_ Ryu to surpass him, both out of pride as well as friendship. Damn it, they had taken some great strides along this path together. Why did only Ryu get to see it through until the end?

Much as he never expected to... he was going to miss this place.

###

Morning soon came. Ken estimated he had gotten about ten minutes of sleep, and judging by how slow Ryu was moving, he suspected he wasn't the only one.

Still, they had their training to get to. Gouken hadn't said when his parents were arriving today, so until then Ken knew he had to work his butt off. Somehow, he doubted his master would accept lack of sleep as an excuse for him not giving it his all, and it would have been beyond embarrassing for his folks to arrive while Gouken was flogging him or something.

The morning exercises went off without a hitch. Ken had performed his _Katas_ so much that he could probably have done them in his sleep. But it wasn't until he and Ryu began to spar that either teen truly found themselves truly waking up.

Ken was even more aggressive than usual, and he launched an all out attack on his friend. Ryu dodged most of his assault, though more than a few got through his defenses, a series of blows in particular smashing into his stomach. He gamely took the combo however and returned the favor, striking back at Ken with an equal intensity. The blonde resisted the counterattack as best as he could, but Ryu still managed to inflict some serious pain on him. A punch to the head had him seeing stars, and a devastating combo that ended with a jump kick made him nearly collapse. But he stayed on his feet, wiped away the blood that was partially obscuring his sight, and smirked.

"Gonna take more than that to take me down, buddy."

"Good." Ryu smiled, a pleased gleam in his eyes. Well, the one that wasn't swollen shut. He didn't look any better than Ken, but he still held himself up with a determined stance. It was something Ken could understand. Neither of them wanted to ever lose, especially today . "I am counting on it."

They were just about to resume the fight when someone called out to them.

"Ah, there he is!"

Both boys looked over to the entrance to the dojo, where both of Ken's parents could be seen. At seeing them, the American felt a surge of different emotions go through him. A large part of him felt happy. After all, it had been three months, and he couldn't say he hadn't missed his folks. But a part of him was irritated too.

 _Damn it. They interrupted our last fight._

(A quick glance over at Ryu told Ken the older teen was just as frustrated as him, but was trying very hard to hide it.)

The last part of him though was sad, and Ken wasn't sure if that part of him wasn't the biggest. But, at the moment, he tried very hard to ignore his conflicted emotions. He walked over to his parents and waved a gloved hand.

"Hey mom. Dad."

"Ken," Philip Masters nodded back to his son. He looked vaguely uncomfortable with the whole scene. Ken suspected some of that had to do with the fact that he still had some blood on his face, not to mention all the bruises. He ran the back of his hand across it, trying to clean up as best he could. "You ah, seem..."

"It's good to see you again, dear." Megumi cut in. She looked her son up and down, her gaze showing something Ken was pretty sure was approval. "I can see by your state that Master Gouken has been working you as hard as I expected."

The youth rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Uh, you could say that."

Ryu stepped forward. "Masters-Sama, it is good to see you again." His tone was the same respectful one he had used during their first meeting, and Ken realized somewhere along the line his friend had become a good deal less formal when talking to him. The Japanese fighter bowed, and Megumi returned it. Philip, however, looked outraged.

"Ken! Look at ah, Ryu, was it? What did you do to him? It looks like you both have been fighting!"

A long pause ensued.

"Um, dad? That's...that's kinda the point."

"Oh." Mr. Masters blinked. "Well, I suppose so. Still, I didn't expect it to be quite so brutal."

"Master Gouken is a rather hardcore teacher, dear."

"Don't worry about," Ken told his father, before elbowing Ryu. "Sides, this one gave me as good as he got. Almost."

Ryu's lips twitched and he looked like he wanted to say something in return, while Megumi took in both boys camaraderie with quiet approval. Before anyone could react further though, Gouken approached.

"Megumi. Mr. Masters. I trust your trip went well?"

"Yes, it was very nice." Megumi nodded. "I trust Ken was not too troublesome?"

The martial arts master regarded his student for a moment. "He proved a touch difficult at first, but it was nothing I could not handle. He adapted within a short time and showed great skill. Besides that, I also believe him to have benefited Ryu's training greatly. I am glad I decided to accept him as a student."

Hearing those words, Ken felt a sense of gratitude fill him, and the last fears that he had been some sort of charity case were dispelled. Crazy as it was, he had a feeling that he had earned his Master's respect during all this. Gouken had certainly earned his.

"I am grateful to hear it. It would seem that you have done nicely." Megumi told her son. Ken got the impression she was rather proud of him as well. His dad still looked a little undecided on how he felt, but even he was beginning to seem more pleased.

"I agree," said Philip. " I can already see a change within you. Being honest, I don't really understand all of this. This was more your mother's suggestion. But you seem to really have taken something from it. I'm glad you stuck it out, son. It doesn't seem like it was easy... but you kept with it. That's all a man can do."

"Thank you both," Ken responded, sincerely touched by his parent's reactions. It was the first time he could recall either of them looking at him with approval, as opposed to him having screwed something up. It felt... well, it felt good. "I can safely say I, uh, learned a lot from both Master Gouken and Ryu."

"And I learned much from your son," Ryu assured them. "About fighting and life in general."

"You both have come a long way," Gouken said, turning to Ken's parents. "Shall I brew up some tea for you?"

"Ah, I'm afraid not," responded Mr. Masters."I have a major meeting with the board in the morning, and we're cutting it close as it is."

"Indeed." Megumi nodded. "Much as I wish we could stay longer, that is not possible."

"Disappointing, but understandable." Gouken turned to Ken. "Go get changed and prepare to leave."

"Of course." Ken nodded. "I'll be back in a few."

He reentered the dojo, taking in every bit. He wanted to remember every part of it after he left.

He entered his room and picked out the outfit Master Gouken had so graciously allowed him to keep when he had first gotten here. He undressed quickly, returning his _Gi_ to the space where he found it. Before hanging it up though, he examined it. He had blood, sweat, and tears invested in this thing, and after three months, it looked it. Part of him wanted to hang onto it, keep it as a memento, but Ken decided there would be no point. The blonde did smile as one memory returned to him, however. When he had first laid eyes on the thing, he had said it had looked badass. That had been the one thing he had been right about.

He slipped his old clothes on. After the months of intense training they were small and tight on him now, and felt constricting after the light fabric of the _Gi_. It was going to take him some time to readjust to them. he was just finishing up when Ryu walked in. His friend said nothing, content to examine him carefully.

"So how do I look, dude?" Ken grinned, but it was bitter. "Think I still look like a warrior?"

"Yes." Ryu responded without the barest hint of hesitation.

"Thanks man, but you don't need to lie. I look like some, like, prep school kid."

"No," The Japanese youth shook his head empathetically. "Do not sell yourself short, Ken. You've shown a warrior's heart and spirit, and it shines through. Regardless of what you wear."

"Heh." Ken wanted to think his friend was just being nice, but something about Ryu's tone made him believe it, and the knowledge made him feel a little better. At least all of this wasn't just erased when he hung up the _Gi_. "Thanks, man."

"Of course. So... this is goodbye, then?"

"Yeah. But not forever. You know that, right?"

"I know. Though if you'll pardon me for saying so, it does not make me dread this any less."

"I get that. I heard how much you were tossing around last night. 'Cause I was awake myself."

His friend approached him. Laying a hand on his shoulder, he looked Ken in the eyes intently. "In the end, you must follow your own path. Feel no shame in it. You gave me much this summer, and I shall never be able to adequately express my appreciation. No matter how far apart we are, know that I will always consider you my greatest friend and worthiest rival."

Ken nodded in return. "Same, dude. Honestly Ryu, you're like a brother to me, man. Kinda like you were saying Gouken's your father in all but blood. Same with me and you, dude. We're, like, bloodless brothers."

"Ken... Thank you."

"It's no big," Ken said, though both knew it was. " But yeah, you ever need anything, write me a letter."

"I will regardless."

"Yeah, keep me informed how you and Gouken are doing. And let me know if Master ever needs anything either, you got it? We both know the old goat's too stubborn to ever tell me himself."

For a half second Ryu appeared conflicted. But he soon gave in and they both shared a heavy laugh. "I will." Withdrawing his hand, he moved away. "I suppose you should get going. You don't wish to keep your family waiting."

"Yeah," Ken admitted, though in truth he didn't care if he made them wait or not. Once again he held out his fist, and Ryu soon returned the gesture.

"Nice. You're learning quick, bro."

"Perhaps I had a good teacher."

"Heh. In more ways than one. I mean, the amount of times I gave you a beatdown... seriously dude, I lost count."

"I have a similar problem. Though I believe my number is a good deal higher."

"Eh, I wouldn't say _that_ much higher. But seriously man," Ken continued as they began to head out. "If it wasn't for me you'd still be stuck doing those lame ass moves you were performing when I got here. Man, be glad I made you step up your game. Otherwise, the first real fighter you fought would have kicked your ass."

"You were a worthy opponent. Though it was nice to shut you up on occasion. Never for long, though."

"Hey, perseverance is my best feature!"

The young fighters made their way outside. Almost immediately, Megumi called out to them.

"Oh, Ryu? Could you come over here for a moment? My husband and I would like to speak with you."

Ryu nodded, but the boys exchanged a brief look.

"They're totally gonna milk you for embarrassing info about me. Don't give it to 'em."

"I won't. Give them much, anyway." And before Ken could argue otherwise, Ryu set off to meet with his parents.

"Ken. A word."

Gouken now approached his remaining student, looking imposing as always. Ken had a sneaking suspicion his folks and him had set this up.

"Yes, Master?"

"You have come a long way, both in martial arts and maturity in general. And I am glad to see it. I know the early parts of your training proved difficult. You surely hated me for the trials I forced upon you. Perhaps you still do."

"No." Ken said emphatically. "Well, yeah, I didn't like you much at first, I can't deny that. But I've grown to appreciate everything you taught me. And heh, maybe I needed a few of those beatings to set me straight."

Gouken nodded and continued. "I am glad you understand my intent. As soon as I laid eyes upon you that first day, I knew you held great promise. The passion you have, if properly utilized, will allow you to achieve greatness. And all that I have done was designed to help you realize that potential. "

"Thank you Master. I do appreciate it." Ken said, and meant it. Come to think of it, Gouken had been one of the first people to really believe he was capable of something. So even though he had pushed him beyond hard while here, Ken couldn't hold it against him. If anything he was grateful for it.

And then Gouken did something that absolutely floored him. His Master bowed to _him_.

"Ken Masters, it has been an honor to train you. Know that wherever your path leads you, you shall always have a home here."

Ken returned the gesture. " I appreciate that, and all you have given me. It has been an honor to learn from you, Master Gouken."

Straightening up, Gouken looked down at his pupil. "Go now. Return to your parents. And be proud of all that you have accomplished here. A teacher can only do so much. It is the student who must display the desire and skill to learn. And you did."

"Heh. Glad you appreciate my hard work." Ken laughed. "But seriously, thanks."

He began to leave, but stopped midway and turned back. "Just so you know... I'm really going to miss this."

His Master's expression did not change, but Ken knew him well enough to know that he was touched.

By the time he reached Ryu, the other youth looked quite flustered. Ken had the distinct impression he was rescuing him from some sort of interrogation.

"Ah, Ken. There you are." his father said. "Ryu here was just telling us about some of the training you boys were doing."

"Your son adapted very quickly." his friend said. "He was a worthy training partner, and I will miss his presence."

"Yeah, but I told Ryu he could come by our place sometime." Ken said. "Only fair and all."

"I'd have no problem with that." Said Philip.

"Plenty of room." Megumi concurred. "Indeed. I look forward to seeing you, Ryu-San. I get the impression there is so much you've yet to tell us about your training. Like how many times precisely you beat up Ken before he put up a decent fight."

"Ugh, mom! You're supposed to be like, cheering me on! Not hearing about my failures!"

"I'm just curious, that's all."

"I... thank you all for your hospitality." Ryu's tone was respectful, but in the way one would speak to an animal they were not sure was going to strike out at them or not.

"Anyway sport, ready to go?" Philip asked. "It's going to be a long flight, you know."

"As ready as I'll ever be," Ken answered, truthfully. Then he addressed his friend. "I'll ah, see you around, Ryu. Keep up with your training, yeah? I don't want to win too easily when we next meet."

"I shall endeavor not to disappoint you." The older teen smiled. "Goodbye, Ken. Safe travels to you."

"Take care of yourself, man."

And giving one final nod, Ken started off. His dad clapped him on the back and started to say something, but he wasn't listening. Instead, he cast his head back and looked one final time over the place that had started as a prison but had come to be a second home to him.

###

 **A/N: The End**

Nah, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't leave it there. We've got one more chapter to go. Hopefully it ties up all the loose ends and serves as a fitting end to this for you guys. I'm looking forward to it, but of course I'm biased.

 **Review Responses:**

 **Ultimolu:** Indeed. It's rather ironic( probably, that concept always trips me up.) Ken's grown a lot though, so it will hopefully be interesting to see where he goes from here. Thanks as always for the kind words.

 **InfamousCookie10:** Glad you enjoyed it. It was fun since I had a pretty clear idea what Ken was like at the start of this fic, but I had to really consider what Ryu would be like before meeting him. I think the time spent with Ken has made him more confident, a bit more prone to jokes. He'll never be a joker, but he can loosen up at times. No immediate plans for future fic, but you never know. Ken's a fun guy to write.

 **Vammy:** That's an incredibly nice feeling to hear my writing's causing, ha ha. Yeah, sadly we're pretty close to the end here, but there's a lot yet left to happen. And indeed, Ken's fortunate enough that he can basically visit Gouken and Ryu whenever he likes, so even though things won't be the same that made this a bit easier for him. My strongest interest in Ken's character is during his early training, but like I said above there's a ton one could do with him, so I'll definitely keep an open mind to future works.

Just got a ps4 and am a bit busier than I was previously, but I'll try to get the epilogue up ASAP. I'm looking forward to finishing this up and completing Ken's journey. As always thanks to all my readers for taking this trip with me and leave a comment if you like, they're always appreciated.

Until Next Time,

DA


	12. Street Fighters

_Two weeks later_

"I have to give you a great deal of credit, Megumi."

Philip Masters helped himself to another cup of freshly brewed tea. He had taken a rare day off from his company, and was presently enjoying a nice leisurely brunch with his wife.

"You'll have to be a bit more specific, dear."

Mr. Masters chuckled. "The business with Ken. It really seems to have straightened him out. I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting much. Even when we first brought him home, I thought he'd be up to his old tricks in no time. But he seems to have really changed permanently. It's incredible!"

Indeed, the difference was very noticeable. Ken had used to be quite a demanding young man, prone to screaming fits when he did not immediately get his way. But ever since returning from Japan he had become a calmer person. He didn't bother the servants nearly as much either; most chores he seemed content to do himself, with little prompting from his parents.

"I told you Gouken would straighten him out."Megumi could not resist a slight hint of smugness infecting her words.

"And you were right. I guess I should learn to trust your judgment, darling." Philip waited until she took a sip of her own drink. "Especially when it comes to your old boyfriends."

The ensuing choking fit was quite the sight to see. Megumi Masters rarely found herself rattled, and Philip found himself childishly glad for his ability to do so.

"How did you..." she finally forced out.

"Megumi, please. I'm the head of one of the largest corporations in the world. You don't give me enough credit."

Indeed, Megumi had to admit she rarely did. She had long ago taken to thinking her husband was exceptionally talented at business and running his company, but rather dismal at most else. But the truth was he could be quite perceptive when he bothered to be. It really shouldn't have surprised her that he had picked up on her past with Gouken, and she chided herself for getting cocky.

"It really was not a serious matter. I represented Gouken and his sensei in keeping their land during a legal dispute over it. Over the time of the case, I got to know him rather well, and there was a mutual attraction. We dated for a time."

"I see." Philip was smiling broadly now, reminding Megumi of nothing so much as her old high school friends. She was at least grateful her husband was not the type to get jealous and feel threatened by an old flame. "How long did it last?'

"A few months. It was serious, at one point. But, at the end, it could never be. I think we both knew that." Seeing her husband's confused stare, she continued. "Gouken's first true love was the martial arts he dedicated himself to. He viewed it as his duty to devote himself fully to it and become a master himself. Personal relationships were just a distraction. A pleasant one, I hope. But I don't think he'd ever have considered giving that life up. Not even for me.

"As for myself, I did not want to force such a choice upon him. And I knew I deserved someone who could balance their life more effectively. So we parted on good terms. We exchange a letter now and then. I was very happy to here he had taken in that other boy, Ryu. After his master died he was all alone. But I think in the end, through martial arts, he found a family."

"He has no family of his own?" Philip inquired.

'A brother. He mentioned him a few times. Apparently they once trained together under the same teacher, but they had some sort of falling out. I never got from him the specifics."

"Family troubles can be difficult." Mr. Masters offered sympathetically."Still, I can't help but be grateful to him. Ken will actually be able to go back to Xavier's now."

"I still can't quite believe you were able to convince Principal Stevens to take him back. The school seemed fed up with him."

"I offered them a _very_ genuine contribution, and the man ate it up. He did mention Ken would be kept under strict watch, however. If they detect the slightest hint of trouble he'll be expelled again, permanently this time."

"I don't think we need to worry about that." Megumi responded. "I think our son has finally grown past his earlier troubles."

"I hope so. Speaking of Ken, where is he at the moment?"

"Out with friends, I think."

"Ah." Philip nodded. "I imagine he's missed them. I'm sure he's having a great deal of fun."

###

Ken was bored.

Holding his head in his hand, the blonde barely paid attention to the chatter among his clique.

At first, he had been happy to see the old group. But as the day progressed, it was becoming more and more clear that they did not have nearly as much in common anymore. First, they had wanted to hear about his trip. (Ken had given them an edited version, deleting most of his screwups and the like, and in general portraying himself as more competent from the very beginning.) He told them about all the awesome moves he had learned and Ryu. But the things his friends took from his talk were not the things he had hoped they would.

"So, like, wait. The dojo did not even have electricity?" Eric asked.

"No. So yeah, as I was saying..."

"Gross! So how did you, like, text? Or use the net?" asked Ashley.

"I didn't. But..."

"Oh man, this place sounds barbaric!" Keith declared.

"Really, it wasn't that bad. After a bit of time I got used to it. So like I..."

"And wait, this other dude that was there? Rye?"

"Ryu."

"Yeah, whatever. Like all he did was train?'

"Well, he read sometimes too. But yeah, that was most of it. He was pretty passionate about it. Master Gouken raised him from when he was small so..."

"Ugh! He sounds so boring. How the hell did you put up with that nerd for the whole summer?" Eric wondered.

Ken's eyes narrowed. "Chill out, alright? He was cool, and he taught me a lot. I can respect someone that passionate about anything. You should be able to as well."

Eric looked like he wanted to challenge Ken, but one look at his serious expression made him reconsider. This was also likely helped by the fact that they both knew Ken could have kicked his ass with both hands tied behind his back. Ken had gotten a lot of compliments from the ladies on his new physique when he had first gotten back, and yeah, he appreciated them. Though even they were beginning to grow stale, given how vapid most of the crowd he hung around with was turning out to be. He found he was needing a little more than a girl to be hot to really hold his interest anymore.

Eventually though the group moved on to the others summer vacations. Eric had gone to England, Ashley to the Hamptons. His friend's summers had been filled with ski trips and shopping sprees, and each of them seemed eager to one up everyone else by flaunting their wealth and status. As Ken listened to them, he couldn't help but to shake his head. It was hard to believe he had been so self absorbed that just a few months ago he'd have been joining in. Hell, he had led this pack. Now, he felt like a complete alien in front of the people who had used to be his closest companions.

He was starting to realize they had never really been his friends.

"Anyway Ken, I'm sooo glad you survived." Ashley smiled at him. "Like, I don't even understand your parents. God, It sounds like hell!"

"It wasn't bad at all. If anything, I'm grateful for it. And besides, I've had worse experiences." Ken said, thinking that this conversation was one of them.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd never talk to any of these kids again. Over his summer he had grown up; they had not.

###

He laid in bed that night, feeling lonely and depressed.

He was a popular guy, but he was realizing that all his friendships, or whatever they were, had been based off the same sort of things; money and popularity. Now that he had changed, none of his old pals interested him, and his attempts to reconnect with them had all proven unsuccessful. Even they seemed to sense he wasn't the same guy who had gone off to Japan and had spent the entire time leading up to the trip whining about it.

Faced with the loss of these relationships, Ken had turned to other amusements. It wasn't like he was lacking any; he had every game console and had bought a ton of stuff for them over the years. And indeed, after months without them they had proven pretty fun. Ken had binged those first few days, catching up on all the releases he had missed. But by now even these games were starting to seem dull. Same with music, movies, and everything else he had missed out on. (The only real exception to the dissatisfaction that he felt was food. Ken had to admit, it was nice to expand his diet again. But even that left him feeling slightly unsatisfied. The blonde suspected this feeling stemmed from not having to work nearly as hard for his meals, and thus not build up nearly as big an appetite.)

But above all, he just felt out of sorts. School would be starting up again soon, and the blonde hoped that maybe it would be a fresh start for him. A chance to find a new crowd. Turn over a new leaf. He wanted something different, but he wasn't quite sure what.

Or maybe that was a lie. He knew that what he really wanted was to go back to Japan and continue his training.

Part of Ken thought he was crazy for even thinking it. He had hated the dojo so much at first, and looking back on it now, he could point out its many deficiencies with ease. The place lacked basic necessities such as plumping and electricity. It was always too cold or too hot, especially at night. It was cramped, and there had been nothing in the way of privacy. The roof leaked after it rained, and he was pretty sure he had developed a mild case of OCD due to all the times he had to clean the dojo's floors.

Compare that with here, and it was a no brainer. Ken loved being able to sleep in an actual bed, eat things other than rice and fish. At his fingertips he had everything he could possibly want, and a house staff eager to cater to his every need. The choice should have been obvious.

And the thing was, it kinda was. But not in the direction Ken imagined most would have thought. Certainly not his peers. For all the sacrifices he'd have to make, he still found the place calling out to him. Maybe Ryu was right; maybe he had had a warrior's spirit inside him all along, and his time in Japan had awoken it. Or maybe he had just adapted and it had developed on it own over time. Either way, he knew what he wanted to do. Hell, what he felt he _needed_ to do.

He laid in bed awhile longer, listing out the pros and cons of the decision. It was a huge one, after all. But if he was being honest, his choice was never really in doubt.

###

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?'

Ken nodded, looking as resolute and determined as either of his parents could ever remember seeing him. He repeated his words to his father. "I want to go back to Japan and continue learning martial arts."

"For how long, exactly?"

Ken shrugged. "Until Master Gouken deems me to have learned everything he has to teach. So at least a few years, probably."

His parents exchanged a look. Megumi's expression was indecipherable, but Philip seemed rather put off by the idea.

"I had no idea you'd become so passionate towards the topic. And I appreciate your enthusiasm son, I really do. Your time there seems to have brought out a lot of positive traits in you. But Ken, what about school?"

"I can do independent study. And the town's close enough, I could work something out there, maybe be tutored by a teacher or two. They don't really like Gouken or his students, but I'm sure we've got enough money to overcome any objections they would have."

"I'm not sure you could keep your grades up, what with all this intense training you seem to be put through."

"Dad, I will. You guys both know I'm a good student when I apply myself." It was true. As a kid, Ken had gotten straight A's. Even now, on the rare occasions when he had tried, he scored at or near the top of his class.

Seeing this tactic was not working, Philip tried a different tact. "But Ken...You're our only child. The Masters Corporation is going to one day need you to run it. Instead you're going to... what? Become a monk?"

"No." The blonde shook his head. "That sort of life may work for Master Gouken and Ryu. But I don't want to leave society, not really. I still will come back here for Christmas and vacations and stuff. And when Master deems my training complete, I'll probably return home. I still fully intend to run the company one day and uphold the Masters standard of excellence."

"Then why this training? Why not just stay in school here? Hell, if you want to join a Karate class or something I'm sure there are options."

"It wouldn't be the same, dad." Ken explained. "I want to push myself. My time in Japan... it was the first time in my life I had to succeed on my own merits. Not due to my wealth. Not due to the Masters name. But because of me, as an individual. I want to continue to do that. I want to prove to Master Gouken and Ryu that I really am a warrior. As well as to myself."

"But you're not a warrior, Ken." Insisted his father. "You're a billionaire! A future leader of society!"

"Dad, If I've learned anything from my training, it's that a person can have more than one identity. I'm going to embrace every part of me, and become the best in all that I do!"

In the face of his son's passion, Philip seemed at a loss for words. He looked to his wife. "Megumi, help me out here!"

Mrs. Masters silently regarded her son. Ken met her gaze steadily, knowing he was being judged.

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" she tilted her head.

"I am."

"I'm not sure we can stop him, Phil. He seems adamant."

"What? Of course we can! We're his parents!"

 _This would be a great time for them to put their foot down for once_ , Ken thought dryly. But instead of complaining, he tried to reason.

"You're always telling me I'm growing up, getting to be a man, right? Well this is my decision. Let me make it. Maybe it will turn out to be great. Maybe I'll end up epically failing. But either way, I'll have made my own choice."

Mr. Masters massaged his head. Ken expected more of an argument, but instead, his dad simply sighed.

"Give us a few minutes, would you Ken? Your mother and I, we need to talk about his."

Nodding silently, Ken left the room. It was only then that he allowed himself to feel anxious.

What would he do if they said no? He was 14, he couldn't go off on his own. It would suck, but he didn't really see a way forward if his parents disapproved. But his mom had to be on his side, right? She liked Gouken, apparently they had been old friends. She seemed pleased at how her son had grown in his care. But that had only been for a few months. Would she really be okay with Ken going halfway around the world and spending who knows how many years there? And his mom had always been super invested in his education. Ken was pretty sure he had offered some compelling arguments, but what if they hadn't entirely swayed her? His dad still seemed pretty opposed, which only made things harder.

After a long time(too long? Or not long enough?) Megumi poked her head out and gestured her son back into the study. Ken entered, and attempted to gauge their decision from his folks expressions. Both looked rather neutral, verging on somber.

 _Fuck. They're gonna refuse and are trying to let me down easy._

"Ken," began Philip. "I am glad you grew to enjoy your time in Japan so much. The personal growth I have seen in you since you returned has truly been impressive. I am proud of the young man you are becoming, and I think we owe a lot of that to your time with Mr, ah, _Master_ Gouken.

"However, your mother and I, well we have some serious concerns about your future if you go down this path..."

 _Great, here it_ _comes_.Ken opened his mouth to protest, but his mom cut him off.

"Which is why," Megumi said, "we are going to hold you to a strict academic schedule during your time there. If your grades begin to fall and you prove you cannot handle both training and academics, you will return home at once. Do you understand?"

Ken blinked. "Wait, what? You mean... you're letting me go? Like, really?"

"Dear! I was supposed to tell him!" Philip complained. "Now I look like the bad cop and you the good parent!"

"Quit being so dramatic, my love. No one could ever think you were the bad cop."

Philip blushed, before catching that Ken was still in the room. "Yes, ahem. Ken, I admit I'm still not entirely comfortable with this. It was, well it was unexpected, frankly. But you're right. We need to trust you, and let you grow into the man you chose to be. If you can prove you can handle everything, I know you'll be ready to take over the company, whenever that day comes. And that is enough."

"Thanks dad. I won't let you down. You either, mom." The blonde felt an enormous affection for his parents at that moment. He almost wanted to give them both a hug, but quickly dismissed the thought.

"I have high hopes that you won't." Megumi said. "Now; go get ready. You'll be returning to Gouken's in a few days. Ensure your affairs are in order before then."

"Heh. Will do. Thanks guys. I'm gonna go and prove just how awesome I am." Ken left the room, clearly pleased.

It was only after he had that Philip remembered something. "Ugh, all that money I paid Xavier's to take him back. What a wasted investment."

Megumi smiled. "Just think of it as a good deed, dear."

###

 _One week later_

 _Rural Japan_

"Well, this is the place." The Masters driver helpfully informed them for the second time.

"You are sure about this?" Megumi asked her son.

"I am." Ken was dressed casually, in black shorts and a red shirt. He wore those colors a lot anymore, especially red.

"Then do your best. For your father and I, as well as for yourself. We expect frequent reports."

"Yeah, I know. I won't let you down." Ken grinned. "Trust me, I've got this."

"Good luck, son." Said Mr. Masters. "You're sure you don't need us to come with you?"

"Thanks, but nah." The blonde picked up his bag. It was full of the few necessities he had decided to bring with him( most of which was largely hair dye to keep him blonde. Hey, if he was going to be all badass, he wanted to do so in style.) "I'm good." He opened the door to the limo and got out, then looked back inside.

"So uh, I'll see you guys later."

"Give Master Gouken my regards." said Megumi.

"See you later, Ken." added his father.

Then with a final nod and a thumbs up, the young teen headed off, up the path and soon vanishing out of sight. His parents watched him go.

"He really has grown up." said Philip.

"He has." nodded Megumi. "It's bittersweet. I believe I finally understand the parents who mourn their children leaving the nest. But I am proud of him."

"Yes, so am I." Mr. Masters admitted. "I always used to worry that he'd run our company into the ground. Now though, I feel one day he'll guide it to new heights. He's a great kid."

Megumi smiled and said nothing further.

"You know, I don't have to be back at work until later tomorrow. I was thinking we could grab a bite here in Japan before we head back to America."

"I would like that. It has been sometime since I had genuine Japanese cuisine." admitted Megumi. "I have missed it. Where did you get reservations?" She knew well that her husband had several Michelin rated restaurants on speed dial.

"Actually, the place I have in mind does not require them. There's a small noodle shop in Yokohama, Ginza. Maybe you've heard of it?"

Megumi smiled, catching on immediately. "I have. As I recall, it was the place of our first date. The food was exceptional, and the company was not precisely lacking either."

"Then would you do the honor of accompanying me there once again?"

Mrs. Masters reflected. Coming here had caused her a bit of nostalgia, and much as she loved her husband she had wondered on occasion what her life would have been like had she taken a different route, had Gouken and her somehow ended up together all those years back. But right now, looking into the eyes of Philip, she realized she could never have wanted for a better life.

"I would like that very much." she said.

###

The path was still steep and demanding, but Ken found himself clearing it with little difficulty.

He reflected on what he'd say to Gouken and Ryu. Neither knew he was coming, as he had wanted to surprise them. He'd have to come up with an awesome one-liner upon seeing them, really make a kick-ass entrance. So, he considered his options.

 _Ken you believe it? I have arrived!_ Ew. No.

 _Masters is back and in the house!_ Even Gouken would probably kick him out for something that lame.

It was hard to think of what exactly to say, and so when he reached the dojo, he still found himself uncertain. Instead he took in the sight in front of him.

Gouken and Ryu were outside, both performing their morning _training_. The familiarity of the sight almost made Ken feel as though he had never left. Smiling, he shouted out a greeting and waved.

"Hey! Sup?"

(Not one of his better ones, but it would do.)

Both master and student paused in their exercises.

Ryu looked over at him, quite clearly surprised and puzzled to see his friend. Gouken was as difficult to read as ever, though. Ken thought the odds were even that he had sensed him before he had even called out.

"Ken?" Ryu approached. "What are you doing here? I did not expect to see you back so soon."

The blonde dropped his bag and met him halfway. "Eh, home got boring. Thought I'd come back here for a while." He grinned.

"I too did not expect to see you again, at least so soon." His master admitted. "As I have said, you are always welcome here. But I presume this is not just a social call on your part?"

"Exactly." the American nodded, pausing briefly to get something out of his bag. "Here's the letter from my folks, it explains everything. But basically, I want to continue to train under you, if you'll have me. I want to learn everything you have to teach, Master. Until the day I can be considered a Master of our art myself."

Gouken took the letter and quickly read through it. In the meantime, Ryu spoke up.

"So you are really coming back here to train? Full time?"

"If Master allows it, yeah. I mean, I'll take trips and stuff now and then back home to see my folks. But these past few months I've discovered a potential I didn't even know I had before. I want to see just where it will lead me. And beat you, of course. Really dude, how was I supposed to slack off knowing you were advancing every day and I was staying still? I have a rep to uphold!"

Ryu chuckled, looking quite pleased. "You returning here will be just the motivator I need to ensure my own advancement. I'm glad you came back, Ken."

"Nothing is decided yet," came Gouken's warning. He looked down at his former student with a stern expression. "It says here in addition to training under me you'll be required to do intensive schooling. You know how demanding a teacher I am. I expect nothing less than perfection. Do you really think you can handle my workload and academics on top of it?"

Ken could have given many answers. But instead, he gave a simple one.

"Yep. I mean, it won't be easy, but if your training has taught me anything, It's that I can overcome whatever life decides to throw my way. And if it's what I have to do to keep pursuing this... I say bring it. "

"Hmph. Know well I'll be watching." Gouken warned.

"So that means you will take me back, as a student?"

"Before I decide, let me clear any misconceptions you may hold. Just because you have returned and I am no longer in charge of rehabilitating you, do not think I will go any easier on you, or spare you any punishments. Advancement in our art is challenging, near impossible past a certain point. What I have exposed you to before this is, if anything, the easy part of your training. What is to come will prove much more difficult. But if you truly wish to master our art, it is necessary and will be required of you. Consider that well before you make your final decision, if you truly possess the dedication this will require."

And despite the grave pronouncements, Ken smirked. "Heh. I'm counting on it _not_ being easy. Be a waste if it was, no? Don't hold back with me, alright?"

This unhesitant answer seemed to satisfy Gouken, and after a long moment, he nodded. His eyes held within them the slightest shred of approval.

"Very well. Then I shall accept you as a student once again. Do not disappoint me."

"I won't. Thanks, Master." Ken bowed. Then he pointed a thumb at himself and grinned. "I'm gonna show you just how strong I really am!"

"I look forward to seeing it. Now, go get changed. We've a long day ahead of us, and I will have to make up for lost time."

Offering a nod in response, Ken stepped back into the modest dojo, feeling almost immediately a comforting familiarity from the place. Yeah, it had its flaws. But all he had learned here, (and the people he had learned it all from) more than made up for them.

His _Gi_ was still undisturbed, right in the place he left it. Ken quickly changed back into it. The fabric felt comfortable against his skin, and brought back a flood of memories of tough bouts, hard training, and enlightining late night conversations.

It was good to be back.

"That look still suits you."

Smiling, Ryu entered the room. Ken laughed.

"Heh, thanks man. I know, I am pretty awesome. But Y'know, even your lame-ass look works for you. Though I'm still way cooler, of course."

Ryu conceded the argument with a wave of his hand, before moving on to other matters. "So, why did you come back? Don't misunderstand, I am glad you've returned. But I thought you were looking forward to going back to America."

"I was. But... I meant what I said, dude. I couldn't slack off knowing you weren't. Besides, I learned so many things in my time here. Chief among them is that I'm a fighter. And a fighter's gotta fight, right? It's like breathing for us."

Ryu's smiling nod assured Ken his friend got it, not that he doubted he would. Despite their many differences, both teens felt the same call.

"I ain't going anywhere until I learn everything Master Gouken has to teach. And sure, one day I'm going to run the family business, and I'm going to be awesome at that, too. But I'm also gonna be known as the best fighter in the States, if not the world. And one day Ryu... one day I'm gonna be better than you. So prepare yourself."

"I welcome the challenge." The Japanese youth replied. "It shall keep me moving forward. Though I will do all I can to ensure the outcome will be different. Either way, I know I'll have a worthy rival in you. And a better brother."

Ken softened. "Yeah, you will. Friends to the end, bro. " And then the sappy moment passed, and his bravado returned. "No matter how many times I kick your ass, I'm always gonna be there to pick you up off the ground. And I won't rub my awesomeness in your face. Too much."

"I will keep your words in mind, and reciprocate the gestures after I have bested you."

"Bah. Whatever, dude!"

They returned outside. Gouken called for them to face one another, and the two young fighters bowed, grinned, then bumped fists. That last part seemed to be becoming a custom for them both, and Ken had a feeling it would always be from now on.

"You ready for this, bro?"

"As you would say, I was born ready."

"Heh. Good." It was then that a thought occurred to Ken, and it made the blonde laugh.

"Hey dude, remember how our last fight was interrupted before I could clearly beat you? I think it's time I extract a little payback." Ken adopted his stance and prepared for the coming match.

"Give it your best shot." Ryu said in turn. "Perhaps I will even break a sweat. I look forward to seeing how far your skills have atrophied in your absence."

"Dude, I've only been gone a few weeks!"

"Long enough to assure me of victory, I think. But now, come at me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this."

"Yeah. Same." Ken grinned. Win or lose, he knew this was going to be a good one.

"Begin!"

The two young fighters rushed forward and leapt at one another. Both had the same hungry look in their eyes, and the same thrilled expression on their faces.

Who won?

Some might say that they both did.

 **Fin**

 **A/N:** And so our story concludes, though really it is just beginning. You didn't really think I was going to have Ken leave, did you? :P

I had wanted to write this piece for awhile. Ken and Ryu's early days and first meeting have always interested me, just because they're so different in so many ways. I really wanted to trace the evolution of that relationship and really give my own take on how they eventually became best friends and rivals. Ken especially has been a really fun character to write and watch grow, even as an author. Hopefully you readers enjoyed it as well.

I want to give a big thank you to my wonderful reviewers: **Ultimolu** , **Vammy** , and **InfamousCookie10**.You guys all inspired me and really helped me finish this in something approaching a reasonable time frame, and I am very grateful for that. I also want to thank all my other readers for following along and giving this unconventional tale a try. There wasn't much fighting, but I hope it still captured my love for the setting and characters.

If you have any final thoughts on the piece, please leave a review or shoot me a message. I'd love to know if the ending and overall fic worked for you. Once again, thanks for reading and coming along on this journey with me.

Until next time, however long that may be,

DA


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